Poke-Oh!
by MissBrains101
Summary: Pocket Monsters vs. Duel Monsters! Both worlds will collide when the Poke'mon Master meets the King of Games! They start off rough but then they must work together to escape a corrupted virtual world, fight Team Rocket who broke into the KaibaCorp and steals powerful cards, free Poke'mon possessed by an evil Yami, and stop a new villain from destroying both worlds as they knew it.
1. The Legend of Both Worlds

**Hello Readers,**

**I'm sorry for the confusion but I had to take this story down and add a proper prologue. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Again, I'd normally post Sonic the Hedgehog fanfics, but I thought I try something different for a change.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Poke'mon or Yu-Gi-Oh! All preserved rights belong to Satoshi Tajiri and Kazuki Takahashi. Thank you.**

**Hope everyone enjoys it!**

**PEACE**

Long, long ago, the great kingdom in the land of ancient Egypt where a great pharaoh ruled was the birthplace of the most popular trading card game called Duel Monsters. It is also the origin of dark and dangerous magic called the Shadow Games. It also a time and place when the very first supernatural creatures with amazing powers and abilities called Poke'mon first dwelled in Egypt. The paintings and hieroglyphs about the ancient legend of two worlds were written on the walls, describing our story here.

Pokémon, Duel Monsters, and people lived together in harmony. Egyptians played with them and kept them as pets. Some used them to spar one another in a match for fun. Some people considered them as tools for power. It is said that Pokémon battles were took place in the Shadow Games, just like Duel Monsters. If all of the trainer's Poke'mon faint and is unable to battle, his or her soul will be exiled to the Shadow Realm and the winner will get to keep the loser's Pokémon.

Pokémon were also to be banished to the Shadow Realm if they are considered useless or too old to fight. People find that cruel and barbaric since Pokémon are living things too and have souls just like humans. Especially one young traveller who arrived in the city wilth a belt of olden model Poké balls and a Pikachu on his shoulder. He was barely an age of twelve and intended on taming every single Pokémon in the world and dreamed of become a Poke'mon Master. He once saved a Ponyta from being clenches of the Penalty Games. The boy was kindedhearted and brave, willing to protect any Pokémon he befriends.

The pharaoh of Egypt was the original King of Games. He was an invincible and unbeatable champion of almost every game. He was also very wise and brave, willing to take on any challenge he encountered. What he was really an expert on was Duel Monsters. His favorite monster was Dark Magician.

Occasionally, duelists and trainers would challenge each other in duel-battle game to prove which of their type of monsters were more powerful. (A Beedril and Killer Needle clashed their stingers, a Mega Tyranitar was outmatched by Two-Headed King Rex, and Gardevoir overwhelmed Dancing Elf.)

Some preferred to played with Duel Monsters while the others sticked to Pokémon training. For years, there have been disputes about which one was better, Pocket Monsters or Duel Monsters? They would even go to their ruler and ask him for his opinion or even plea him to settle this once and for all.

The feud between trainers and duelists went in for years without ending. Their pride and greed for power added fuel to the dark fires of the the underworld.

All that changed when one day, an army of Pokémon poachers have invaded Egypt and planned on stealing every Pokémon they see. Supposedly, they were the original Team Rocket, ruthless and power-hungry. During that time, there was also a cold-hearted, greedy thief intending to steal whatever he could find. He was after the pharaoh's powerful Millennium Puzzles and god cards.

The leader of the animal hunting group ordered his men to attack and take everything they find. They released their evil-influenced Pokémon and had them assault anyone who gets in their way. They bought out turmoil, devastion, and fear to all the kingdom. Houses and tents ablazed, objects and properties were knocked over by the enemies, people ran and screamed in panic, trying to flee the danger. In the Pandemonium, the poachers already scooped up some Pokémon while the their own pet slaves pinned the smaller and weaker ones, disabling them to escape. Luckily, the traveller's Pikachu came to their rescue and zapped all of the enemies, sending them and their evil Pokémon to the Shadow Realm, freeing all the civilian's Pokémon. The young trainer opposed the leader and bravely challenged him to a battle. The leader took the chance and took out his Persian. The traveller took out his Charizard and the two Poke'mon combated for the fate of the city.

During the chaos outside, the treasure thief snuck into the chambers of the late pharaohs and tried to steal all the ultimate treasures. The pharaoh confronted him and challenged his opponent to a duel. The thief accepted it and got out his medieval DiaDhank. The pharaoh's Dark Magician clashed with the thief's monster, Diabound, defending the late pharaohs' honors and treasure.

While the two duelists contended in a grudge match, the traveller and the poaching leader were down to their last Pokémon, Squirtle and Swalot, both worn out from strife. The trainers were breathing hard, also worn out, knowing that if one of their last Pokémon faints, either of their soul will be sent to the Shadow Realm. The weary Pokémon charged at each other one last time and tackled head on. Their heads collided, they bounced back and rolled on the floor. Squirtle used the last of its strength to stand up while Swalot struggled to get up too. Fortunately, it succumbed to its wounds and fell flat on the ground. The poaching leader screamed in terror as when he lost the battle, his soul has been banished to the Shadow Realm. The traveller gaped in horror. His wicked Persian has also been sent to the dark spirit world. The traveller sighed deeply in weariness and security as he is is victorious and safe from a grim fate. He was glad he wasn't the unlucky one condemned in a eternity in the Shadow Realm. Pikachu comforted him.

Meanwhile, the pharaoh was still fending off against the demented thief who were both to their last 200 lifepoints. The thief was about to finish off his opponent's Dark Magician with his deadly Diabound, but luckily it activated the Pharoah's trap card, disabling it and destroying it. The thief gasped in horror. The Dark Magician casted a spell on the thief's lifepoints, wiping it all away. The thief leader screamed unholily and evanesced into the Shadow Realm, along with the other terrorists. The pharaoh took a deep breath as he won this duel.

The traveller's Pikachu unleashed a powerful storm of thundershock and zapped remaining enemies and sent their souls to the Shadow Realm as well. Peace restored to the city. Everything quieted down as the danger is over. Everyone was safe for now, thanks the young traveller and the brave Pharoah. The king of Egypt thanked the boy for his help and gave him a thumbs up as saying good job. The boy bowed down to the Pharaoh in respect and returned the thumbs up. The hieroglyphs displayed the two young heroes shook hands in friendship and they to both agreed that Poke'mon and Duel Monsters are both awesome and fun.

But that moment didn't last long when another horrible unwelcoming villain rose up from the depths of the Shadow Realm, created and formed from the evil spirits of Pokémon and dark magic. A gigantic three-headed dog-like humanoid demon called Cerberus sought havoc and tried to destroy the kingdom. Each head represented three emotion: anger, sorrow, and deviousness. All very dangerous and think all alike as one superior mind. Their shadow pets scattered and terroized the people of Egypt. Everyone fled and evacuated the kingdom while the pharaoh and the traveller bravely stepped forward to the demonic hellhound. It was said that Cerberus was neither a Pokémon nor a duel monster but an intelligent and malevolent creature guarding the Shadow Realm, out to punish the world for its abuse of animals and cruelty to living creatures. He was both a duelist and shadow Pokémon trainer, having his servants do his vile tasks for him.

The carved tablet next showed two brave heroes opposing together to the almighty gaurdian of the Underworld Cerberus. They both defeated it with the help of the Egyptian god cards and the three legendary trio, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei and sealed it inside the Ball of the Underworld, bringing peace to the world. It is unknown of became of the pharaoh and traveller after an epic battle. Some believed they escaped victoriously unharmed, others thought both heroes died trying and their souls got caught in the dark magic and are sealed inside the Ball of the Underworld. But above all, the real truth could be that a mysterious Pokémon named Mew rescued them from being pulled into the Shadow Realm along with Cerberus and erased the pharaoh and traveller's memories of their encounter. Life moved on for the both of them and moved forward to their own paths.t

In the aftermath, the people settled down in a peaceful land, safe from danger. Although the world is saved, nothing much has changed. Half the Egyptian population still loved to play with Pokémon while the opposing half still preferred dueling with monsters. To prevent the repeated apocalypse disaster, trainers and duelist decided to divide themselves and have their own different worlds on each side of the Earth where they can live in harmony without worry or care.

Since then, both worlds of Pokémon and Duel Monsters had lived separatedly with very little contact with each other for 5,000 years. Until today...


	2. In The Pokémon World

**This was originally supposed to be the second chapter.**

**Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

**Peace**

Planet Earth, home of animals, humans, and all living things. It's also home of supernatural creatures called Pokémon. On the first side of Earth, there are over 800 species of Poke'mon inhibiting half of the planet. Some keep them as pets, others use them for battle, either for fun or to prove who's the best. But one kid, one very special young man has the ultimate goal of all: to catch them all!

That young man is 10-year-old Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town who stood in the middle of the Poke'mon battle arena, determined to bring victory to his name. "This is it! I have come a very long way!" He said to him. His head is down, the brim of his cap covered his eyes. "I've fought so many battles, earned so many badges, captured so many Poke'mon, and now the Day of Judgement is finally here!" He rose his head up high, revealing his confident black eyes. "I'm going to be the number one champion of the world!" He got out his red and white Poke' ball. "Poke' ball, Go!" He threw it across the floor and out came a ball of light, forming the Poke'mon it contained. Ash smiled as he expected his Poke'mon, but then his smile faded when he found something else. A giant ogre-like mutant with a shield came out of that Poke'Ball. It growled as its glared at the boy with fierce eyes, scaring him. "Ah! This isn't my Poke'mon!" He ejaculated. "What are you?"

Then suddenly, more unusual and unidentified shadow creatures that he'd never seen before appeared out of nowhere. They are nothing like the Poke'mon he encounterex everyday. They's are beyond different that they are not even in the Poke'dex. They appeared to be like the one they escaped from a certain trading card game. They all glared at him with mean and red glowing eyes. He felt very afraid. "Ah! None of those are my Pokémon!" He cried. "What's happenning?!"

The creatures took one step forward as they are about to take on the helpless boy. Ash waddled backwards frighteningly away from the creatures. "Hey, come on, guys!" He uttered. "You really don't want to take on me, do you?" One of the creatures was to pounce on him. Ash whimpered in fear as he shielded himself with his arms, waiting to be struck.

Then out of the darkness, something crept behind the frightened boy. "Huh? What now?" Ash gasped and looked behind him. A black shadowy figure with a glowing eye symbol between his forehead.

"Huh? Who are you?" Ash asked.

The shadow did not answer. It just leered back at him with glowing sunshine eyes. It walked past him, through Ash's body. He gasped in surprise as his cap slipped off his head, letting his black hair loose. The same eye symbol appeared on his forward. "Huh?" Ash gazed at it between his eyes as something extraordinary happened within him. His pupils got smaller as something inside him took over. He then found his own soul plummeting into a world of darkness, surrounded by eerie spirit energy. The same shadow creatures surrounded him. He screamed as his body disappeared in the consuming blackness.

* * *

"Ash! Ash!" A young little boy's voice occurred in the dream zone. "Ash, wake up!"

Ash stirred up from his nap. He was asleep on the couch at the Poke'mon Center. He opened his eyes and saw his friend Max on top of him, looking at him through his glasses.

"Uh, hi Max," he said.

"Dreaming of becoming a Poke'mon master again?" Max said.

"Sort of. I just had the weirdest dream," Ash said, rubbing his black hair. His cap was sitting on his right side. His Poke' buddy, Pikachu was nestled besides him, who was also napping. "I just sat down and closed my eyes for a minute."

"Pika," the little mouse Poke'mon perked his ears up as he opened up those adorable black eyes.

"I'm not surprise," Max said. "You must have been training real hard."

"Yeah, my Poke'mon are getting stronger," Ash added.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu added.

"Well, break time's over! Come on, Ash! We got to get to the Fighting Dojo!" Max urged. "Or May and Brock will be displeased!"

Ash glimpsed at the center clock. "Oh, crud! I forgot!" He cried. He put on his hat and jumped up from the sofa. "Let's go, Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" The yellow Poke'mon hopped out of the couch and joined his friend. Max followed along.

At the Fighting Dojo building at Saffron City, a typical Poke'mon tournament was about to begin. The gym was packed, so many noise, and a line of trainers stood at the wall, competing for the black belt and for the new Poke'mon. May from the Petalberg City and Brock from Pewter City were also lined competing in the tournament. Ash and Max finally arrived at the gym just in time, meeting their friends. "Hey, guys!" They greeted together.

"There you are!" May said.

"About time you got here," Brock said. "We were starting to think you're getting cold feet."

"Nah, Ash never backs down from a challenge," Max said. "Right, Ash?"

"Mmm-hmm. Right." Ash responded listlessly and felt a bit sluggish inside.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked in concern.

"You okay, Ash?" Brock asked his young friend. "You look a bit tired."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine," Ash said, rubbing his eye. "Just woke up from my nap." He yawned. He thought about that dream again and wondered what did it mean. Is it a sign or some kind of omen? Either way, he decided that it wasn't important right now, because now he has a contest to win.

"I'll be sitting in the audience," Max said. "Good luck, guys!" He went to take his seat.

The crowd screamed as the tournament was about to begin.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!" The announcer blared through the speakers. "THE ANNUAL POKE'MON TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! PLEASE SELECT YOUR POKE'MON, YOU WILL USE ONLY ONE ON EACH ROUND! WHOSEVER POKE'MON FAINTS OR GIVES UP WILL LOSE THE MATCH! THERE WILL BE NO DIRTY TRICKS PERMITTED! FIGHT WITH EVERYTHING YOU GOT! GOOD LUCK TO ALL TRAINERS!"

And so, the trainers took the time to pick out their Poke'mon they'll use for each round.

"I think I'll choose Ludicolo," Brock selected his choice.

"And I'll use my trusty Combusken!" May said, holding her Poke'Ball.

"Looks like it's you and me, Pikachu!" Ash decided.

"Pikachu!"

"Go get em', Ash, May, and Brock!" Max cheered for both of his friends. His sister's Poke'mon Munchlax sat next to him in the seat, munching on a load of snacks, including May's purple surprise.

"LET THE MATCH BEGIN!" The announcer blared.

DING! The first match started off with Tangela versus Shiftry. Both of the grass Poke'mon glared at each other fiercely.

"Shiftry, use Shadow Ball!" The trainer commanded.

"Shiftry!" The grass Poke'mon unleashed a ball of darkness and fired it at the blue vine-layed Poke'mon.

"Tangela, jump up and use Leech Seed!" The female trainer commanded.

Tangela screeched in obedience, leaped high up to avoid the Shadow Ball and spat out a green seed from its black opening, implanting in Shiftry's white fur. "Shiftry?" It looked up.

The seed sprouted green vines and wrapped all over Shiftry's body, draining it of its energy. "Oh no!" The trainer gasped.

"Yes!" The female boasted.

Shiftry collapsed onto the ground, defeated.

"Shiftry, no!" The Trainer shouted.

"Shiftry is unable to battle, the match goes to Tangela!" The official proclaimed.

"Whoo-hoo!" The girl praised.

"Wow, that was barely like one turn and it was already over!" Max

Next, Espeon took out Cloyster using Psychic Attack. Pidgeot defeated Machoke using Wing Attack. Venomoth used Confusion on Hariyama. And Flaaffy zapped Tentacruel with Thunder.

Next match, May faced a punk rock trainer with an Electabuzz. "IT'S MAY VERSUS JED ZAP-PELIN! LET'S SEE WHAT THEY GOT!"

DING

"Go, Electabuzz! Rock this little birdie's world!" Jed commanded like a lead singer.

"Electabuzz!" The lightning Poke'mon babbled and threw multiple punches at its opponents. Combusken quickly moved sideways, barely dodging the fists.

"Good, you got it in the bag!" Jed said.

"Hang in there, Combusken!" May said.

"Use Thunder Punch!" Jed commanded.

Electabuzz jabbed Combusken in the beak, zapping it. May gasped. "Combusken, are you okay?" She asked with concern.

"Comb-usken!" The fire fowl affirmed positively and stood on its feet. It is alright.

"Good," May said in relief. "Now use Slash!"

"Compusken!" The flame bird swiped its sharpened wing feathers upon the lightning Poke'mon, bringing it to a K.O.

"Electabuzz, no!" Jed cried.

May smirked and scratched her nose.

Max in the crowd winced at that. "Yeouch! That's gonna leave a mark!"

"Munchlax!" The eating Poke'mon commented.

The bout went on. Next, Brock challenged another trainer in the 15th match. His opponent is a lovely female with sparkling long blue hair, sapphire eyes, a pink crop top, black shorts, and white leather boots. "Hi, there," she said in a sweet voice. "This is my first time of being in a tournament."

As usual, Brock goes crazy over a pretty girl he meets. "OOOHHH!" Hearts appeared on his eyes. "And this is the first time I felt this excited when I met you!" He said.

"Yeah, right!" May said.

"What can I do to make your day?" Brock asked.

"Can you try going easy on me?" The girl asked.

"Okay, sure, no problem!" Brock consented dreamily.

"IT'S BROCK VERSUS BELLA! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"

DING!

"Bellossom, do a Petal Dance," Bella said.

"Bell-ossom!" The diurnal plant Poke'mon twirled around and performed a petal dance ritual.

"Ludicolo, use-" Brock sudden remembered his promise. "Uh, my command is to...do nothing!"

"Ludi?" His Poke'mon looked at him like he's crazy.

The people wondered and whispered what is up. "What is he doing?" Max asked in surprise.

"Bellossom, use Solar Beam!" Bella ordered.

"Bellossom!" She gathered up some energy, preparing a beam of sun power.

"Brock, you got to fight!" Max hollered. "You can't just stand there, doing nothing! Get Ludicolo to use Doubleslap while Bellossom is still gathering energy!"

"Uh...right," Brock said distractedly. "Uh, Ludicolo, use Doubleslap! But gently."

"Ludo?" Dubious by his trainer's lack of focus and sense of skill, the carefree festive Poke'mon confronted the little grass Poke'mon and gave it a light tap. "Ludicolo?"

The crowd exclaimed in disapproval. Some booed. Max slapped his palm on his forehead. May shook her head in hopelessness. Ash groaned in disgust while Pikachu nearly fell over his owner's shoulder. "Brock, what were you thinking?"

"Now your chance, Bellossom!" Bella said. "Use Solar Beam!"

"Bell-Lossom!" Bellossom fired out its fiery beam cannon at its opponent, overkilling it. Ludicolo laid on the ground, burnt to a crisp.

"Ah!" Brock gasped. "Ludicolo!"

"Ludicolo is unable to battle! Bellossom is the victor!"

"Yippie! I won!" Bella jumped for joy. "Good job, Bellossom!"

"All for you, Honey!" Brock said, not caring that he lost as long as his dream girl makes it to the top.

"Brock got beaten by a pretty girl!" May said it in ignominy.

"How embarrassing!" Max said in shame.

"Munchlax!" The chubby Poke'mon replied.

"Some things never changed." Ash said, shaking his head.

"Pikachu."

More trainers each defeated their opponents, moving up to the top. Combuskin faced Skitty in the next match. "Combuskin, use Fire Spin!" May shouted.

"Skitty, use Ice Beam!" The kid trainer stepped in.

Skitty ejected a freezing beam of snow from its mouth, directly hitting the fire bird Poke'mon, turning it into an ice sculpture.

"Combusken!" May cried.

"Combusken is frozen solid, match goes to Skitty!" The official declared.

"Yes!" The girl rejoiced.

May stood next to her frozen Poke'mon. "You did your best, Combusken." She said. "I'm proud of you."

"C-C-Com-bus-s-kin!" Her fire friend chattered in coldness.

"Let's get you warmed up." May returned her icecubed Poke'mon back inside the Poke' Ball.

Ash Ketchum is the last one standing. "Looks like it's up to us now!" He said.

"Pikachu!" His partner agreed. They're finally at the final round with the champion. He came face-to-face with an old ally, Kiyo, a fighting trainer he and his pals once met at the Johto Region. "Well, look who we have here!" The karate man recognized his old friend.

"Kiyo, how are you?" Ash asked.

"Feeling good!" Kiyo replied with a smirk. "I hope you've been training hard, Ash, because we are not going to hold back!"

"Same goes for me!" Ash said confidently. "Pikachu, go!"

"Pika!" Pikachu stepped in.

"Tyrogue, I choose you!" Kiyo commanded.

"Tyrogue!"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!" The announcer declared. "THE FINAL ROUND! CHALLENGER ASH KETCHUM VERSUS DOJO CHAMPION KIYO! WHO WILL BE VICTORIOUS? ONLY FATE WILL TELL! LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"

DING!

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" The mouse Poke'mon obeyed and zoomed down to its opponent's location.

"Tyrogue, use Protect!" Kiyo commanded.

Tyrogue obeyed and placed a protective shield in front of it, warding itself from Pikachu's attack.

"Pikachu, Tackle Attack!" Ash commanded.

"Tyrogue, grab it and use Seismic Toss!" Kiyo commanded.

Pikachu charged at Tyrogue who grabbed it by its paws and started swinging it around. "Pikachu, watch out!" Ash cried.

Tyrogue threw the lightning Poke'mon across the stadium. The people gasped. Pikachu was flying straight toward to the wall. "Pikachu, watch out!" Ash cried.

Pikachu quickly recovered, bounced off the wall, and launched back onto the battle floor. Ash breathed in relief.

"Nice save!" Max commented.

"Not bad," Kiyo said. "But this is only the beginning."

"I'm ready," Ash said confidently. "Pikachu, use Agility!"

At the speed of sound, Pikachu trotted and took aim at its opponent.

"Tyrogue, use Karate Chop!" Kiyo commanded.

Tyrogue threw lightning-fast fists and kicks at the speedy mouse. Pikachu dodged them all and tackled the fighting Poke'mon in the head. Tyrogue

Pikachu and Tyrogue battled each other head on, non-stopping. They were so fast, people couldn't keep up their eyes on them. Both of the Poke'mon clashed fists and paws together, equally strong. Their levels are the same and neither of them will hold back and give it their all. Brock, May, Max, and the people were astonished by all this. They paused for a minute and faced each other panting.

The two trainers glanced at each other. "You're good, Ash, but it's time to end this!" Kiyo said. "Tyrogue, use Mega Punch!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail now!"

"Pika!"

"Tyrogue!"

Both of the Poke'mon charged each other at full power. They are closing in on each other. Ash and Kiyo shed a bead of sweat as they prayed in thought for a victory. Brock, May, Max, and everyone watched anxiously, awaiting what happens next.

"PIKACHU!" Pikachu swiped his flashing Iron Tail.

"TYROGUE!" Tyrogue threw his glowing fist.

At the flash of light, both of the Poke'mon thrusted past each other, unknown who hit whom. Both stood 10 inches apart, attempting to keep their strength up. Then, Tyrogue, succumbing to the damage, keeled over and fell flat on the ground.

"Tyrogue!" Kiyo shouted.

"Tyrogue is unable to battle, the victory goes to Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu!" The official declared.

The crowd went wild. "ALRIGHT!" Ash cheered in joy. "WE WON!"

"PIKACHU!" Pikachu celebrated with his friend.

"Alright, Ash!" Brock, May, and Max praised for their best friend. "You did it!"

"Way to go!"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!" The announcer screamed.

Kiyo smiled and picked up his Poke' pal in his arms. "You did good, Tyro. I'm proud of you!" He accredited.

"Tyro..." The fighting kid Poke'mon uttered, feeling good even though knocked out.

"Hey, Ash! Congratulations!" He addressed the Poke'mon trainers. "That was amazing! You trained your Poke'mon well."

"Thanks, Kiyo!" Ash said.

"Guess we better train harder," Kiyo said. "I look forward to our rematch one day, Ash."

"You betcha, Kiyo!" Ash said confidently. "Take care!"

"Good seeing you again!" Brock added.

"Who was that?" May asked.

"Oh, a friend of ours," Brock answered.

After the tournament, Ash and his friends walked out of the Fighting Dojo building with his prizes, a black belt and a Poke' ball of a new Poke'mon Hitmonlee he picked out. "That was a great tournament, Ash!" Brock said.

"You did great!" May said.

"You really rock!" Max added.

"Thanks, guys!" Ash said, smiling. "You guys were great too!"

"Pikachu!" His little Poke'mon friend hopped on to his shoulder and beamed in pleasure.

"Especially you, buddy!" Ash petted his little friend.

"Let's head over to the Poke'mon Center and take a lunch break!" Brock suggested.

"Yeah! And then we can find out where the next Poke'mon contest is," May added.

Max checked out his Poke'Nav. "Well, according to the Poke'Nav, there's one coming up in Dynamo City!" He said, adjusting his glasses.

"Then we'll head over to Dynamo City, right after lunch!" Brock said.

"Yeah!" The friends cheered together.

"Let's do it!" Ash said cheerfully. "I can't wait to see what new adventures awaits us!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed. And so, he and the quartet headed for the Poke'mon Center to find out where their next destination is.


	3. One Day In Domino City

**Two chapters I posted up and alreadly I got over 100 views :D**

**If you readers like this story this much, I will definitely keep writing.**

**For Corina O: Thank you so much for your review! And yes, I know it's pronouced "Domino City", but there's a reason I put "Dynamo City". Trust me. I'd tell you but that be spoiling it. I'm sure you'll be surprised.**

**PEACE**

On the other side of the Earth, there is a normal world where it's not inhibited by supernatural creatures, but with just ordinary animals with no powers. However, it's not as normal as you think it is. In fact, it's filled with good and dark magic, paranormal activities, sci-fi-like technology, magical familiars, and occasionally, unexplained happenings that no brilliant scientist on Earth or Heaven could ever explained.

In a advanced metropolis called Domino City, everybody was strolling around and at their usual businesses, shopping, strolling, walking to work, and of course, browsing at game stores, hoping to score a stronger and rare card. In some blocks of Domino City, lots of youth played around and killed some time by playing Duel Monsters and practicing for the next tournament. Duel Monsters is the world's most popular trading game ever to be invented. Like Poke'mon, players can summon monsters on the battlefield and order them to attack their opponent's life points, except without passing through the magic spells and trap cards. Most everybody played just for fun while the rest worked extremely hard to be the best of games. But there can only be one King of Games. And that King of Games is, you guessed it, Yugi Muto, champion of Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, unbeatable at almost every single game.

One peaceful morning, Solomon Muto was sweeping his front porch, outside of his Game Shop. He took a deep breath and smelled the morning air. "Ah, what a beautiful day!" He said to himself. "A perfect time to pull yourself away from computers and get outside and play outdoor games. Heh heh heh!"

"Speaking of games, where is that boy? He knows that there going to be another competition today." He looked up at the second floor of his home and shop. "Heh, heh, heh! Why do I care? He's probably shuffling his proud card deck, getting ready for another day of dueling." He stood his broom up and smiled proudly. "My perfect grandson, the greatest-nay, the best duelist in the world! Otherwise they don't call him the King of Games for nothing! If I know one thing, he's always in top of things and has a real straight attitude! Ha ha ha!"

Upstairs in his room, 16-year-old Yugi Muto was still abed in prone position. A puddle of drool matted on the sheets right next to his mouth where he snored loudly. He was really knocked up from the last adventure duel he went through, possibly after Battle City. Suddenly, his Time Wizard alarm clock went off, causing him to stir up and turn over. He grumbled and placed his pillow over his head, trying to drown out the noise. He doesn't to want to get out of bed. The alarm kept on ringing. Yugi mumbled incoherently as he remained buried beneath the blanket and pillow with just his bare feet exposed. With recollected strength, he used his arms to lift himself up and swung out of bed. He let out a huge yawn and got on his feet. His tricolored hair is crooked and a little messy and his eyes were still closed. He walked slowly toward his desk like a zombie and leaned on it. His hand probed over the desk until it touched the alarm and snoozed it.

"What time is it?" He mumbled and rubbed his eyes as he briefly glimpsed at the clock. "10:35..." He read, closed his eyes, and drifted back to sleep again. "10:35?!" He finally gained fully alertness and popped his eyes open. "Yikes! I'm totally late!" He exclaimed, finally wide awake. "I was supposed to meet Joey and the others about 10:30!" At complete haste, Yugi removed his pajamas and rushed to his closet. He hopped up and down, putting on his blur pants while brushing his teeth. He put on his usual clothes, a black tank, blue jacket, and a collar around his neck while straightening his big violet and black spiky hair and blond bangs. His Millennium Puzzle sat on the top of his drawer. He clicked his belt around his waist and was ready to go. "Time to go!" He said. He left the bedroom, leaving his most important things behind. His duel disk, card deck, and more importantly, his Millennium Puzzle. Yugi came back in the room. "Almost forgot!" He said. He took the duel disk and left. One moment later, Yugi returned and grabbed his card deck. "Whoops! Heh heh! Forgot again!" He laughed and closed the bedroom door.

It didn't take long for Yugi to return back into his room for the third time. "Whoops! Almost forget once again!" He said, feeling silly. He grabbed the Millennium Puzzle off the dresser top. "Can't leave you behind, pal!" He smiled and lobbed it up in the air and the chain loop landed directly around his neck. He chuckled cheerfully and left his bedroom this time for good.

Downstairs, Solomon was in the kitchen, watching the news on television and drying dishes when his grandson arrived in a skid. "Morning, Grandpa!" He greeted quickly and grabbed a fresh piece of toast from the toaster just as it popped up and jammed it into his mouth. He then grabbed a bowl, a box of cereal from the cabinets, and a quart of milk from the refrigerator. He poured both of them into the concave glass and started scarfing down the portion like a vacuum cleaner.

Solomon sniggered when he saw his grandson eat like a ravenous horse. "Sit down and eat, son," he said. "It's not like the world is crumbling behind us."

"I'm running late, Grandpa," Yugi muffled. The rest of words he muttered out were indistinct and ungraspable because of the masticated food flooding within his cheeks, milk streaming from his corner of his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Solomon scolded.

Yugi swallowed the rest of cereal and shoved a piece of banana into his mouth at velocity.

"Now just take it easy, son. Give your stomach time to digest.." Grandpa advised. "You'll give yourself heartburn if you don't slow down."

"No, I won't!" Yugi returned, chomping down the last bit of the banana. "I'm fine, Grandpa! I've got the body of an ox!"

But he stood corrected when he felt sudden indigestion and gagged. He rapidly pounded on his chest, trying to rid of the pain.

"Ah, you see? That's what happens when you eat too fast!" Solomon said wisely. He gave his grandson a glass of milk. Yugi took it and gulped it down as soon as possible. "And I was right as usual." His grandfather added, chuckling.

Yugi sighed and placed the glass on the table. "Ah, that's better!" He said. "Later, Grandpa." He left the kitchen and started heading for the door.

"Oh, Yugi! Just a minute!" Solomon called.

"What, Grandpa?" Yugi replied, urging to go.

"Just so you know, life is full of surprises. Sometimes out of the usual, something new will always happen even when you don't want them to!"

"Uh, good advice, Grandpa!" Yugi turned around. "Look I really have to go! I'll see you later!" He scooted and shut the door behind him. Solomon smiled and put the used dishes in the sink.

Yugi ran the blocks of the city, jumping over every obstacle, including boxes on a moving dolly and hurrying to meet his friends.

At the Dueling Arena, dozens of excited game fans and card players were arriving and entering inside the building. Near the opened doors, three good friends, Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, and Tèa Gardener were standing around, waiting for their friend. "Look how many people are entering inside that arena," Tristan pointed out. "I bet it's jam-packed like my grandma in her Packard after Thanksgiving."

"I bet it's really important," Joey said. "I'm dying to see what's going on."

"We have to wait for Yugi, guys," Tèa said. "You know we can't get started without him."

"Yeah, I know," Joey said, brushing his blond hair.

"Where is Yugi?" Tristan asked. "He better not have forgotten!"

"He'll be here," Tèa said. "When it involves Duel Monsters, Yugi wouldn't miss out!"

"Hey, guys!" A small teenaged voice called from a different direction. The gang turned around. Yugi came running down to his friends, just in time.

"There he is!" Tristan said.

"Hey, Yug, you're late!" Joey said.

"Sorry, I had clock trouble!" Yugi admitted.

"That's alright, Yugi," Tristan said. "To be honest, we too just got here."

"Yeah, we were up all night watching Batman," Joey fessed up.

"And I had to pick out which outfit to wear." Tèa added. She is wearing a black crop top underneath a denim sleeveless jacket with slender jeans and cowboy boots.

"Did you hear? Maximilian Pegasus has an announcement to make!" Tristan informed.

"Maximilian Pegasus?" Yugi looked surprised. "I've haven't heard from him since Duelist Kingdom. I wonder how he is."

A few months ago, Yugi and his friends competed in Dueling Kingdom Tournament to save his grandfather's soul after he was taken away by Pegasus when Yugi lost the first duel to the unbeatable creator of Duel Monsters. Like Yugi, Pegasus possessed a Millennium Eye to read through minds and cards before they were even drawn.

Thanks to the young boy's brilliant "mind" power, he and his spirit partner were able to outmatch the psychic champion and become the new King of Games, freeing his prisoner's souls, Solomon, Seto Kaiba, and his younger brother Mokuba.

"Last time I heard, he had nervous breakdown after being defeated by Yugi," Joey said. "It's amazing how quickly he got back on his feet."

"I hope he doesn't pull any more dark tricks," Tristan said.

"I don't think so," Tèa said. "With his Millennium Eye gone, he won't be able to read minds again."

"What are we waiting for? Now that we're all here, let's go inside!" Yugi said. The four of them entered the Dueling Arena. Inside, a throng of noisy people gathered at the battle floor, awaiting the announcement. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tèa stood in the amid of the ocean of people. There are hardly any elbow room for any of them. "Boy, there sure are a lot of people here!" Tèa said.

"Everybody and their brother came," Joey said.

"I wonder what does Pegasus got in store for us?" Tristan thought.

The crowd quieted as a long silver haired man in red approached the balcony seat above.

"There's Pegasus." Tèa pointed up.

"The man who used to be king," Tristan said.

"He's looking better than ever," Yugi said.

"Ahem! Good morning, boys and girls." Pegasus publicly stated. "It is good to see your faces again! As you all should know, I took a little vacation after the Duelist Kingdom tournament. I need some time to get away from it all. Being a game creator and duelist isn't easy. Heh heh heh!"

Joey rolled his eyes. "Oh brother!" He muttered.

"First of all, as the former King of Games, I just want to admit that I was to be such a big shot snoot, but that's all behind me now. I have turned over a new leaf and just be the man who made Duel Monsters."

His brown eye focused straight directly on Yugi. "Yugi-Boy! My dear congratulations to you!" He said cordially. "You deserve that title. It suits you well, it's true. Everyone, please give him a warm round of applause as the new King of Games!"

Everybody around the spiky-haired teen applauded for him as they hailed him as the new King of Games. Yugi chuckled shyly and scratched his head. "Uh, thank you!" He said. "You're too kind!"

Joey waved up and down, trying to get some of that attention. "Just so you know, I'm friends with the King of Games, Joey Wheeler!" He grinned like a movie star. Nobody seemed to care.

Tristan placed his hand on his head and shook it in dismay. "Oh Joey!"

Tèa eyed on Pegasus suspiciously. _I know Pegasus didn't summon us just to praise Yugi._ She thought.

"But enough about that!" Pegasus cut this short. "I want to talk to you, duelists about my new project. I'm creating a new type of game, a role-playing one." The people looked up with interest. "But I need some inspiration! I'm still having an off day! That's why I called all of you dueling fans here. In memory of my beloved Cecelia, I'm hosting an Create-A-Game Contest! Whosever idea wins will receive a free testing of the new game and a first-class membership pass to my new amusement I'm working on!"

The fans smiled and chatted to each other as they liked the sound of this.

"Create-A-Game Contest?" Yugi repeated.

"Sounds interesting," Tèa said.

"So grab your decks and start thinking! Put your mind together and create something big! Something original!" Pegasus spread his arms welcomingly. The crowd cheered excitedly as a new challenge is on. Everyone scattered and spiritedly shuffled their card decks to form up some ideas.

Tristan looked a little disappointed. "We came here for this?" He said. "Some silly inspiration contest?"

"That sounds like fun," Tèa said, smiling. "Let's do this!"

"What do you say you and I started practicing for the contest, Yug?" Joey asked his little best friend.

Yugi smiled in confidence. "In that case." He got out his duel disk, placed on his forearm, and turned it on. The blade beeped and swung out in a right circular arc, ready for use. "Let's duel!" He said.


	4. Ash and Co Ride On The Wrong Bus

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone!**

**Notice: I made a tiny change on the first chapter. I hope everyone doesn't mind.**

Back at the Poke'mon world, Ash and friends were walking down the Saffron City, sightseeing the incredible urban. Coming here brought back memories to Ash, Brock, and Pikachu. Ash, with their old friend Misty of Cerulean City first stopped by at the shining big city for a Poke'mon match against Sabrina the Saffron City gym leader and her psychic Poke'mon. He lost the first match and had to go to Lavender Town to retrieve a ghost-type Poke'mon from the Poke'mon Tower so he can beat Sabrina. He temporally captured a Haunter, returned to Saffron City and finally beaten the psychic gym leader and her Poke'mon Kadabra and earned the Marsh Badge...with a few jokes from the ghost Poke'mon. In a manner of speaking, Ash and friends found Sabrina outside her gym, delighting a bunch of children by manipulating her once-possessed doll with her ESP. She smiled merrily as the her sweet inner innocence was restored thanks to the protagonist of the Poke'mon story. She looked and gave Ash and her friends a friendly greeting smile. Ash and Pikachu smiled back and bowed down in reply of respect. Brock, who forgave her for turning him and Misty into dolls, set romantic sights on the psychic lovely girl but then was pulled away by Max by the ear.

They also spotted the Silph Co., a company that manufactories many powerful items, including the Master Ball and the Silph Scope that uncovers ghosts.

May already got her Kanto Ribbon and Ash got his Dojo blackbelt and new Hitmonlee, so now, it's time for them to move on to another city. Their new destination is Dynamo City.

They couldn't take the Magnet Train because it is still under maintenance. They arrived at the Saffron Bus Terminal, looking for their transportation to Dynamo City. There were lots of people everywhere and several buses arriving and departing at each gate. "There's so many buses everywhere," May said. "Which one's our ride?"

"According to the Poke' Nav, there's also a big museum in Dynamo City," Max calculated. "Just recently, a new artifact called the Ball of the Underworld was just discovered by archaeologists in Egypt and has been added to the museum's collection."

"That sounds interesting," May said.

"According to the history researcher, Professor Arthur Hawkins, the Ball of the Underworld was an ancient mystical Poke' ball and the most potent tool ever to be welded. It was used only once by the pharaoh 5,000 years ago, to tame the unpredictably strongest creature ever to walk on land."

"Was it a Poke'mon?" Ash asked.

"No one really knows for sure," Max said. "There was a creature so dangerous and so powerful, it could not be tamed by humans."

"Whoa!" The friends exclaimed.

"Do you think the Ball of the Underworld still contained that creature?" May asked.

"It is highly unlikely," Max replied. "If it had been cooped up in that artifact Poke' ball for 5,000 years, it would have withered away and turned to dust! So the Ball of the Underworld would be empty as a Shellder."

"Whoa! This I got to see!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!"

"We can check it out after May competes in the Poke'mon Coordination Contest in Dynamo City," Brock suggested.

"If we can find our bus," May said.

"Here our bus ride!" Ash located their ride at the left gate and ran outside.

"Ash, wait up!" Brock called. He and the siblings ran up to catch up on their friend.

Ash and Pikachu arrived outside at the platforms where a large gold and black public vehicle is welcoming passengers aboard. Ash stood at the stop and examined the bus up close. "This is it, guys!" He turned around waving. "This is our transportation to Dynamo City.

The friends caught up to him. "Are you sure, Ash?" Brock asked.

"How do you know?" Max asked.

"I know, guys!" Ash said. "See that? 'Dynamo City". He pointed to the destination sign which spelled out what he said. He placed foot on the steps of the bus. "Come on, let's get on!" He encouraged.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu added, on his partner's shoulder.

The friends stood outside, looking like they are not ready to board just yet. "What's the matter?" Ash asked.

"Uh, first, can you take me to the little boys' room?" Max embarrassedly requested, legs crouched together and shaking. "I really got to go!"

"Really? Now?" Ash looked at the little boy with glasses.

"Yeah," Max replied.

"Can't your sister take you?" Ash asked.

"Actually, can you take Max for me, Ash? I want to pick out a souvenir from Saffron City," May requested.

"And I got to go pick up some snacks for the trip," Brock said. He and his female ally walked off to the nearest gift shop at the gate.

"Wait, guys! Come on!" Ash complained. He was left to tend May's little brother's needs.

"Please, Ash! I'm about to burst!" Max pleaded.

"Okay, we'll make it quick!" Ash hopped of the steps of the bus and hurriedly escorted his little friend to the boys' room.

With the gang gone for five minutes, their Dynamo City bus closed its door and left, leaving the gang behind them. In its place, a different bus arrived at the same stop, replacing the first bus. The door opened up, releasing a few more passengers out. They were wearing duel disks on their forearm as they came from a certain dueling city.

Nearby, Ash stood next to the restroom door, waiting Max to finish up. "What's holding up Max?" He asked Pikachu. "He should be done by now."

"Pik-achu!" The electric mouse Poke'mon moaned, holding its lower abdomen.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash asked his furry comrade.

"Pika!"

"You gotta go too?"

"Pika!" He pleaded with those adorable black eyes.

Ash groaned impatiently. "Okay, Pikachu, you can go in, but hurry up!" He granted.

"Pika!" He squeaked blessedly as rushed into the restroom door.

Ash sighed as he waited by the door for his friends. Suddenly, somebody approached the boy. "Huh?" Ash looked up. In front of him is an Egyptian-looking man in a white turban, ivory tunic, and a long cape that almost touched the ground. He also had on a ankh-shaped key, dangling around his neck. He gazed at the black haired boy with those blank cobalt eyes. "Who are you?" Ash asked.

"You are the one with the Pikachu, are you not?" The stranger called Shadi asked. He is a spirit guardian from Yugi's world, keeper of the Millennium Puzzle and Millennium Scales. He guarded the tombs of the great pharaohs' tomb for 5,000 years and now he wanders around in the modern world, "measuring" people's sins and judging them.

"Uh, yes, I am," Ash responded. "But who wants to know?"

"Then you are the second chosen one," Shadi said. "The creature from the Shadow Realm will rise again and destroy this world."

"Huh? Chosen one?" Ash blinked confusedly. "What do you mean I'm the second chosen one?" He inquired. "Who's the first, and what's this creature from the Shadow Realm?"

"You and the pharaoh will reunite both worlds and defeat Cerberus once and for all!"

"What are you talking about? What pharaoh?" Ash asked again.

Out of thin air, the mysterious stranger disappeared in front of his eyes. "Huh? Where did you go?" Ash scratched his head and wondered. How can anyone disappeared like that? Max and Pikachu emerged from the restroom door, all set and ready to go. "Done!" The small boy said. "Let's go!"

"Pikachu!" The mouse Poke'mon hopped onto Ash's shoulder who was still in a trance.

"Ash?" Max spoke up.

_Who was that guy?_ Ash thought.

"What's up, Ash?" Max asked.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu tried to get his attention.

"Huh?" Ash snapped out of it. "Oh, it's nothing! Nothing at all. Let's move." He moved along. Max looked at his friend in question. He shrugged and followed his older friend. Shadi, in the traveling crowd, eyed on the Poke'mon trainer in observance. His Millennium Key shone in the terminal lights.

May and Brock exited the gift shop with a bag full of snacks and a tote full of tee-shirts and trinkets.

Nearby, the Team Rocket trio, Jessie, James, and Meowth slouched on the bench, fully tired from a sleepless night on the uncomfortable public bench. They groaned as they sat up and cracked their limbs. "Oooohhhh...here's to another sleepless night!" James moaned.

"A night of failure!" Meowth moaned. He felt his back which is marked from lying on the rough and metallic surface.

"How are we ever gonna get Pikachu if we keep falling behind?" Jessie complained, rubbing her long red messy hair,

"Hey! Speak of the devil!" Meowth pointed to the gates.

"Hmm?" Jessie and James looked up. They spotted Ash, Brock, May, Max, and Pikachu returning to their bus rude.

"It's the twerps!" Meowth said.

"What a small world we live in!" James said.

"Let's follow them!" Jessie said. The trio left the bench and tailed them.

"Come on, let's go already!" Ash said impatiently. "We don't want to miss our bus!

"We're coming, we're coming!" Brock said.

The quadrant picked up the pace and finally stepped foot inside their bus. Little did they realize that they were getting on a different bus which destination sign read "Domino City" instead of "Dynamo City". They are getting in the wrong bus! The kids walked down the aisle and took their seats. When May found an empty seat by the window, Max pushed her aside and hopped onto the window seat before she could get to it. "Dibs on the window seat!" He giggled.

"No fair!" May protested as she took her seat.

On the opposite side, Ash and Brock took their seats as well. Pikachu hopped on to its partner's lap and gazed out the window. More passengers boarded upon the bus. Brock spotted a pretty girl with purple hair in a pony tail and in school clothes. As usual, Brock went lovingly gaga, leaped out of his seat and got himself a acquainted with the pretty girl. "Hello, my name is Brock," he said in a flirty tone. "May I have your name, oh lovely one?"

"Um...Miho?" The purple haired girl replied uncomfortably.

"Miho! What a gorgeous name!" Brock raptured. "Say, do you believe in fated meeting?" He took her hand. Miho stared at him like he's crazy.

Ash kneeled over his seat and ordered. "Brock, get back on your seat! The bus is gonna leave soon!"

"Allow me!" Max volunteered. He hopped from his seat and yanked Brock's ear and threw him back on his seat, away from the confused girl. "There you go!"

May giggled. The passengers clapped and praised for the boy for eliminating the disturbance. Max dusted off his hands and teturned to his seat.

Ash slapped his palm on his face. "Geez! Do you have to do that every time you see a pretty girl?" He asked in annoyance.

"Pikachu!" He is just as annoyed as his human friend is.

"I can't help it!" Brock rebutted. "Girls are my life! One day, you'll experience it and see what I mean!"

Ash laid his head behind his hands and rested on his head. "I seriously doubt that." He muttered. He looked out his window. He spotted the same Egyptian stranger from before through the window. Shadi stood right next to the bus stop, staring at the Poke'mon trainer like he's expecting him to do something. Ash stated back at him in curiosity. "Pika!" Pikachu saw the guy too.

"Hey, Brock look!" Ash pointed to the window.

"Huh?" Brock looked over his friend's seat.

"I met this guy earlier," Ash began to explain. "He..." But he returned to the window, Shadi disappeared again.

"What guy?" Brock asked.

"He was right there just now." Ash said. "He was wearing a white turban, a white dress and big golden key around his neck. He told me that I was the second chosen one and stuff!"

Brock didn't seemed to be believe. "That sounds a little unreal." He said.

"But I did see him!" Ash protested. "He told me that some creature will appear from the Underworld or something and then disappeared."

"You're probably imagining things," Brock closed his lined eyes. "You've been training too hard."

Ash groaned and lowered his head. "Pikachu!" The yellow Poke'mon looked on his friend from a lap.

"You saw him too, didn't you, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!"

Ash looked out his window and pondered. Is he really imagining things or did Shadi really visited him and told his prophecy?

With the kids already seated inside the bus, Team Rocket spotted their targets and grinned and chuckled devilishly. "There they are!" James said.

"This time, they won't get away!" Jessie affirmed.

"Pikachu, you're all ours!" Meowth added. They opened the baggage hold and snuck themselves inside. They are pretty cramped inside a narrow interior with hardly any elbow room. A couple more people threw their belongings into the hold, squishing the idiotic trio within and making it more cramped. They shut the door tight, turning everything dark. Team Rocket groaned as they are compressed cheek-to-cheek against the top and wall. "Well, that stinks!" James complained.

"Sorry, that was me!" Meowth piped up.

"How come we have ride in the baggage hold?" James asked in a whining tone.

"Because it's the Team Rocket way," Jessie replied in a gritted irritated voice. "If we're thieves, we have to be sneaky, not to mention stealthy. If we're going to take Pikachu, we must lay low and wait for the right time to capture it like a hidden tiger waiting for an ambush."

"Like a Meowth pouncing on a Rattata," Meowth added.

"Exactly," Jessie agreed.

"We're getting a Rattata too?" James asked.

Jessie and Meowth groaned in intolerance. Their friend is really heedless and nescient.

A hiss escaped from the engines. The doors closed. The bus driver pulled the gearstick and revolved the steering wheel. The bus drove off the lane, took a turn, and left the bus terminal. The wheels ran over the speed bump, creating a bounce for the passengers, and caused the bags inside the hold to shuffle and roll over Team Rocket. They will not be having a cheery, easy trip. When things smoothed down, Jessie's blue patient Poke'mon popped out of its Poke'ball as always. "Wobbuffet!"

"I hate my life!" Jessie groaned.

"Dynamo City, here we come!" Ash announced.

"Pikachu!"

None of the training friends are aware that they heading toward a whole new world with a whole level, a challenge that Ash Ketchum and his Pika partner is not fully trained for...


	5. The New Team Rocket Members

**I'm back!**

**Sorry for the wait! I was working on my other story and reaping for some ideas for this fanfic!**

**Peace**

Meanwhile at the Team Rocket headquarters, Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket was sitting at his office, petting his most favorite pet, Persian. He had been countlessly for his men to bring in some news and reports or deliver some rare and valuable Poke'mon which they haven't done in a long time. "Ah, my dear Persian," the Boss cooed softly. "You're such a good Poke'mon. Not like all the rest!"

Persian purred mirthfully as its master stroke on its creamy head. "My slacking army are so ridiculously lame that they can't even catch the simplest of Poke'mon!" The Boss complained. "But they're not as lame as the three certain idiots I know of." He thought about Jessie, James, and Meowth who always screw up everything and fail every time. "And where are my so-called trusted lackeys, Butch and Cassidy? Dr. Namba better called me sooner!" He was starting to lose patience. He hated waiting. He wants rare Poke'mon now and fast.

"It's so hard to find good help these day!" Giovanni grumbled. "I bet Mother never had to put up this rubbish everyday." He gazed at the painting of his mother, Madame Boss before her son took over.

"We got to find figure out a new plan to capture these wretched Poke'mon! We must try something that it hasn't been used yet!" Persian meowed in agreement.

There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Giovanni barked.

"It's the new Team Rocket you sent for us, Billy and Kidd." A young manly voice replied from the closed door.

"Duh, yeah it's us!" A big deep voice added. "Billy and Kidd."

"About time." Giovanni pressed the button on his desk to unlock the door. "Come in!"

The door opened, entered two different sized young men in brown Team Rocket trademark uniforms. There was a skinny short man, about child's size with very short black hair, turquoise eyes, a cowboy hat with an "R" logo, and a large big-boned teenaged boy with shaggy blond hair, beady blue eyes, yellow whiskers, and a red scarf. "You send for us, Boss?" The short man asked.

"Yes, I've got a new assignment for you, Billy and Kidd." Giovanni said. "As you are both aware that the Ball of the Underworld has been discovered from Egypt and delivered to the museum of Dynamo City."

"From what I heard, the Ball of the Underworld was supposed to hold the most dangerous Pokemon that has veered dwelt in the ancient past," Billy, the big-boned one said. "Duh, what was it called?" He asked his partner.

"Cerberus," his partner Kidd answered. "Nobody knows if Cerberus was a Poke'mon, but myth say that he was part man, part three-headed dog that ruled the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm?" Billy repeated.

"It's a place where wicked souls go after life," Kidd explained.

"Bah! It's a bunch of nonsense!" Giovanni said. "I didn't call you two to tell me a fairy tale, I want you two bring me the ball of Cerberus!"

"You want us to steal the Ball of the Underworld?" Billy asked.

"No, that would be Butch and Cassidy's job," Giovanni said.

"Then what did you call us for?" Kidd asked, folding his arms.

"I want you two seek and deliver me the most valuable treasures I could get my hands on."

"What kind of treasure do you have in mind?" Billy asked.

"It doesn't matter," the boss answered. "Anything that will give me power. Precious strength. Something that no man could ever posses it!" He grinned avariciously and rubbed his hands in salivation. Persian looked at him casually.

"I thought you would," Kidd smirked. "Right now, we are planning to invade one of the world's most powerful companies."

"Silph Co.?" Billy asked.

"No, that's in Saffron City." Kidd informed. "The company we are targeting is called KaibaCorp, one of the biggest and most successful industries. It should be located in a capital called Domino City."

"Domino City? Where's that?" Billy asked.

"If my calculations are correct, it is located on the other side of the planet," Kidd said. "A side where the prominent trading card game called Dual Monsters was produced.

"Duel Monsters?" Billy repeated that word.

"You know, a game of holographic monsters, magic spells, and everything," Kidd described.

"I haven't heard that name since I was a boy," Giovanni said, placing his forefingers and thumb on his chin. Persian looked up, curious.

The Team Rocket leader thought about his childhood. He had a flashback of himself as a ten-year-old boy. Before he was interested in Poke'mon, he had a tremendous collection of power-punching monster cards scattered in his bedroom floor. "When I was a small boy, Duel Monsters was my life! I could beat everyone without even trying!" He recalled. "But my mother made me threw my decks away!" His face winced when a painful memory flashed in his head. His mean mother grabbed him by the forearm, kicked his card decks, and threw his duel deck out the window. "She thought they were a waste of time and complete uttered rubbish! She said it was time I concentrate more on Poke'mon than pieces of paper imprinted with magical beasts!" Giovanni's face slumped as he stroked his loyal classy cat on the head.

It was possibly a wonder why the Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket was always so bitter all the time.

"Sorry to hear that, Boss." Billy said with pity. "That stinks when your momma doesn't let do whatever you want!"

"Yes, but that wasn't the point!" Giovanni said. "I want power! I need something that could help me take over the world!"

"Of course you do! That's why we're investigating KaibaCorp, the factory of the most sophisticated and puissant monster cards in the world, such as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Card Deck Virus."

"Oh yeah!" Billy agreed, rubbing his hands in

Giovanni doesn't look a tad interested. "Would you tell me why would I want flash cards of fairytale creatures and mumbo jumbo?"

"We need the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to tame Cerberus," Kidd pointed. "Otherwise, it will a very difficult task. As researchers proved, Cerberus is three-headed deity of the Shadow Realm after all. Plus, with the must powerful monster and spell cards on your side, you would become an even more powerful tyrant in the world, even more powerful than this Seto Kaiba person, the owner of KaibaCorp."

"Yeah. Who's Seto Kaiba?" Billy asked. Kidd tsked and shook his head at his dumb partner.

Giovanni smirked as he liked the idea of being a godly dictator of both the Poke'mon World and Duel Monster kingdom. "Not such a bad idea," he said darkly. "It'll be nice to get my hands on those monster cards again. Good thing I hired you on the spot! You're perfect for the mission."

Kidd nodded in agreement. "We are perfect because not only are we rare Pokemon hunters, but we are also card dueling experts with powerful monster cards that would crush anyone who get in our way."

"Yeah, only a fool would try to oppose us!" Billy added.

"Just do whatever it takes to get me the Ball of the Underworld and do not fail me!" Giovanni commanded sternly, folding his arms.

"Did I mention that we're also duelists, other than just Poke'mon trainers?" Billy added.

Kidd jabbed him in the ribs. "Of course we did, nimrod!" He hissed.

"Oh yeah, right!" Billy said, feeling dumb. He doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

"We must keep our name alive," Giovanni said. "Team Rocket has been around for ages, since my greatest ancestor, Brutus." He opened up a large book on his desk, displaying a large picture a sneaky-looking man with in a Roman general attire with a red cape and a dark breastplate. "Born and bred in Ancient Rome, Brutus was a power-hungry general who wanted nothing more than riches and powerful rare Poke'mon. The citizens worshipped Cerberus as their Poke'mon god and creator. In hope to bring that three-headed deity to life, Brutus rounded up his army of strong and ruthless Poke'mon poachers and led on to Egypt land, hoping to snatch some valuable treasure and Poke'mon. He was the one who created Team Rocket and was the very first leader of it."

"Team Rocket's from Rome?" Billy questioned dumbfounded. "Then where are we from?"

"Be quiet, Bill," Kidd muttered sharply to his partner.

"Egypt was filled with rare and valuable Poke'mon, not to mention mystical items that can created powerful magic that can make your dreams come true! Brutus hoped to steal the seven Millennium Items in order to bring Cerberus into the real world in order capture it and turn it into his own pet." Giovanni continued. "With a powerful demon on his side, he would be unstoppable!"

"Alas, his mission was cut short by a meddlesome young traveller who got in the way of Team Rocket and ruined everything! Also, a greedy thief beat them to the treasures and got sent to the Shadow Realm by the pharaoh. The young traveller defeated Brutus and sent his and his Poke'mon's souls to the dark world, feeding and releasing the three-headed beast that had been guarding from his shadow coop for far too long. With his soul encaged in the beast's vessel, Cerberus became an intelligent dog-man being with three heads named Sorrow, Anger, and Deviousness, the leader, and a full knowledge of card dueling, Poke'mon battling, and Shadow magic. He tried to take over the world but his plans was foiled once again by the foolish pharaoh and pesky traveller and both sealed him inside the Ball of the Underworld for 5,000 years. No one has seen Brutus or his Poke'mon since."

The Team Rocket duo were sort of fascinated by that tale. "Wow, that's some story," Kidd said.

"Exciting!" Billy added.

"I hope to fill up my ancestor's dream," Giovanni concluded. "I wish to gain the seven Millennium Items and rare monster cards and Poke'mon."

"Duh, of course you do, Boss," Billy understood.

"Not to worry, Boss. Billy and I will make sure that the Ball of the Underworld are as good as yours."

"Duh, yeah!" Billy said.

"Good." Giovanni nodded. "Just so you know, Butch and Cassidy are currently in Dynamo City, observing the Ball of the Underworld at the museum, getting ready for the perfect heist."

"Of course, we will not let you down, Boss. Not like the last Team Rocket members." Kidd promised.

"Yeah, we're getting Cerberus and the rare DM Cards!" Billy added.

"You better! Dismissed!" Giovanni stood up from his seat and granted the new Team Rocket duo permission to travel to Domino City. Billy and Kidd saluted their leader and left the office on their new mission.

Giovanni sat back down, with elbows resting on the surface of the desk and hands clasped together. "This time failure is not an option," he said. "This world will be mine!" He chuckled sinisterly. His beady eye shone ominously in a greedy gleam, resembling his Roman ancestor Brutus.

Persian growled softly and looked at its owner in anticipation. It looked as if it felt that something inauspicious might to happen.


	6. A Shadowy Presence Among Us

**To be honest, I've never actually play the trading card game. I only watch the anime. So I really don't know much about playing Duel Monsters, so try to go easy on me. Thank you and PEACE**

Back in the Dueling Arena, Yugi placed his card in the slot, summoning a monster onto the field. "I call upon, my Dark Magician! In attack mode!" A man in a slender purple wizard armor appeared floating in front of him.

"This should be fun! I summon Jack's Knight in attack mode!" His opponent, a curly red-haired teen boy named Artie inserted a monster card into the slot, summoning a knight with armor with designs like a poker card.

"Fair enough," Yugi said. He placed another card face down. "I bring out my Kuriboh to the field!" He activated a little ball of hair with large eyes, feet, and paws into the field. "And then I place a face down card."

"Cool, but wait until you see what I got!" Artie said. "I also summon Queen's Knight in the field, also in attack mode!" A beautiful bold woman in a knight's armor arouse in the field.

"Whoa! You got Queen's Knight too?" Yugi said. "Awesome, you got good cards!"

"Thanks. I also summon King's Knight, too!" Artie brought out the king in shining armor. "Now that the gang's all here, I use my Royal Straight!" He selected a card with a picture of a poker-playing hand and inserted it into his slot. "I tribute all three of the Poker Knights and summon Royal Straight Flusher with 2500 attack points!"

"Impressive," Yugi said. "But I activate my trap card, Waboku!" He revealed his face down card of three elves in a blue clothing. "It will protect my monsters from any attacks your knights pull!"

"That sounds fair, but I activate the spell card, Remove Trap!" Artie counterattacked with his spell card, discarding Yugi's Waboku and leaving him defenseless.

"Royal Straight Flusher, attack his Dark Magician now!" The Poker Knight made his move and destroyed the spiky haired teen's favorite monster, reducing his life points.

"Not bad!" Yugi recommended.

"Thanks!" Artie said.

Joey already got his duel disk activated on his forearm and is ready to play. "Well, now that Yug's starting to play, I might as well get started." He walked around the arena, looking for an opponent. He spotted a gothic punk rock duelist named Mace McKiller nearby. "Hey, you! You wanna duel?" The blond guy addressed him.

"Huh? Who are you?" Mace asked.

"The name's Joey Wheeler, and I'm named Top 4 of the Battle City Tournament!"

"Really? I'm shaking in my boots!" The punk rock smirked.

"That's right, you're looking at the semi-champion of Battle City!" Joey bragged.

"In that case, let's duel!" He accepted his challenge and activated his duel disk.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Joey agreed. "I shall activate my Flame Swordsman on the field." A warrior in a red orange heavy armor carrying a large sword appeared on the battle field, ready to attack.

"Say hello to my Mystic Clown!" Mace brought out his clown-like demon who cackled impishly.

"Tsk! Your little one-eyed jester don't scare me!" Joey scoffed.

"Oh, you should be scared, pretty boy!" Mace said, folding his arms. "Because nothing can stop the mad attack from this powerful creature." He quoted from the card.

"Oh yeah? Let's see what does my Karate Man say about this! Attack!" Joey's kung fu man in a yellow gi and afro threw karate chops at the creepy clown, demolishing it and deducting Mace's life points.

"Good move." The gothic punk said.

"I'm just getting started!" Joey said.

"So am I," Mace said. "I activate my Battle Fader!" A small bat-like monster appeared on the field.

"Huh?" Joey gawked at it weirdly.

"Why don't you go ahead and attack me if you dare?" Mace invited.

Joey looked at his opponent suspiciously. "Hey, Mace! Are we dueling or are you just putting on creepshow for me to attack them?" He asked him. "So far, you've been putting only dark monsters on the field in attack mode. You didn't even play any spell cards or traps. What's up with that?"

"On the contrary, I've been planning something up my sleeve," Mace smirked deviously. He tapped his index finger on their arm impatiently. "Shut up and attack me."

"Alright, but you asked for it!" Joey retorted. "Flame Swordsman, attack his Battle Fader!" The Flame Swordsman swung his sword at the fiend bat monster, destroying it and erasing its owner's life points.

"You fell right into my trap!" Mace snickered and revealed his face down card. "Dark Fiend Retribution!" Ghosts arose from underneath the purple card. "With the help of Battle Fader thrown to the graveyard, I summon a special monster that will 'sweep' you off your feet!" From the dark dust, a new monster, a short witch in a black maid and riding on a flying vacuum cleaner which air pump has a mouthful of fangs. "Heh heh heh!" It laughed as its attack status revealed 3000 attack points and 2100 defense points.

"Whoa! What the heck is that?" Joey exclaimed.

"Say hello to my little friend," Mace sneered. "The Maid Witch!" His black witch cackled in reply. Her vacuum cleaner hissed.

"Maid Witch?" Joey looked down on his opponent's monster. "Doesn't look that tough!"

"Oh no? Maid Witch, show him what happens when he messes with us!" Mace commanded.

"EEH HEE HEE HEE HEE!" The Maid Witch laughed wickedly and piloted her flying vacuum cleaner all over Joey's monsters and sucked them all up in the pumps, destroying them in the household monster's "stomach sac".

"Ah! No way!" Joey cried in shock. His life points reduced by 3,6oo.

"It 'sucks' when your monsters get vacuumed into the graveyard, doesn't it?" Mace grinned deviously. "Face it, runner-up, you may be Battle City number 4, but you don't stand a chance against my monsters."

"Believe me, I'm just getting warmed up!" Joey retorted.

"Then keep going." Mace said confidently. "I've got all day."

"I activate...Pot of Greed!" Joey presented his next card and placing it in the slot. "It lets me draw three more cards!" He pulled out three more new cards.

"You can draw as many cards as you want, blondie." Mace smiled devilishly. "My Maid Witch will just suck up anything you put on the field."

Joey made a face, trying to intimidate his opponent, only to make him laugh. "Keep laughing, pale boy! I'm gonna wipe that smug off your face pretty soon!" The determined blond dude bluffed. "Aha!" He grinned.

"Hmm?" Mace looked up.

"Heh, heh, heh! I summon Baby Dragon on the field!" He boldly placed his orange dragon young out in front of the vacuum-riding witch.

_Tsk! What can he do with a puny little dragon?_ Mace thought.

"And then I'll play my trump card, Time Wizard card! GO!" Joey set out his clock-shaped monster. Its long hand started spinning in a circle like a roulette, fating if it would hit a skull or the red bomb. _Come on, baby. Hit the time section. Gotta win this round!_ He thought anxiously.

_What's Wheeler trying to do? Lose on purpose?_ Mace thought.

The hand finally slowed down and with luck, stopped on the red clock. "Yes! Just what I need!" Jory exclaimed.

"What?" At the flash of the light, time passed forward blisteringly for both monsters. The two duelists shielded their eyes from the light. When they opened their eyes, they expressed oppositely when they saw the transformation of their monsters. Joey's baby dragon grew up into a senior dragon while Mace's Maid Witch has formed into an extremely wrinkled old hag, aged of 100 years, looking like she'll withered into dust, and her vacuum cleaner was rusted away. Mace's red eyes widened in shock. "No way! What did you do to my Maid Witch?!" He shouted.

"Your scruffy old scurvy has aged into dust!" Joey smirked deviously. "Thousand-Year-Old Dragon, blow that dusty old hag away! "

The elderly dragon puffed through his nostrils, gusting the aged witch into a cloud of dust, reducing the stupefied Goth's life points to zero. "AAAHHH! NO WAY!" Mace exclaimed. "It can't be!" He dropped to his knees and his mohawk drooped down.

"Game over, paleface!" Joey grinned, giving him a thumbs down. "I've just out-rocked you!" He displayed a I-Love-Rock gesture and laughed in triumph. "Who's next? Who else wants to challenge the mighty Joey Wheeler?" He called out, lobbing the card deck in his hand.

"Boy, Joey's working hard than ever." Tristan observed his friend. "That's a first for him. In that case, I'd better start practicing."

Since when do you duel, Tristen?" Tèa asked.

The pointy haired dude placed his duel disk on his forearm. "Since now." He answered simply. "Thought I should play Duel Monsters more often like the others."

Tèa smiled and saw through his intention. "Let me guess; it's for Serenity?"

"Maybe..." Tristan hesitantly. "I mean it's not like I'm trying to impress her or anything." He shuffled his card deck and placed them in the slot.

"Right." Tèa answered doubtfully. "You know Joey doesn't like it when you get hang around with his sister."

"Eh, he'll get over it." Tristan said. "After all, I need to be more prepare, especially after those Big Five creeps took over my body and made a monkey out of me, literally. I won't let that happen again."

"I guess not. Smart thinking." Tèa understood.

"You wanna spar with me?" He offered.

"Sure, why not? I'm gamed," She accepted and got out her duel disk as well. She'd like to learn more about Duel Monsters herself. The two friends brought their favorite monsters out to the field, Cyber Commander and Magician of Faith.

Yugi and Artie were still on a duel with each other and things were about to heat up.

"Hey, Yugi. I think I played pretty well, don't you think?" The curly haired boy said. His Royal Straight Flusher, summoned from three Poker Knights was still standing in the field. It looked like he was about to win.

"Yes, you did, Artie." Yugi admitted. "You did good."

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I have to end this duel now. Royal Straight Flusher, finish him off!" The powerful poker knight rushed its way for the opponent's life points.

"Not so fast! I activate my trap card, Spellbinding Circle!" Yugi declared. On the field, the Royal Straight Flusher was seized in a round circle of mystic light, freezing him from moving in his tracks.

"Whoa! You got him!" Artie said.

"I use my 'Monster Reborn' and bring back my Dark Magician!" He showed a card of a light blue cross-like ankh and placed it in the slots. Immediately, his Dark Magician returned to "life", back on the battle field. He scanned his row of cards in his hand, smirked, and selected a card.

"I shall also invite his student..." He placed his card in the last slot. "Dark Magician Girl!" His lesser monsters disappeared and formed together into a pretty blond-haired girl in a sexy magician out with a rod.

"No way! Dark Magician Girl!" Artie said excitedly.

"That's right! And that's not all!" Yugi declared. "I will use Magicians Unite, boosting Dark Magician's attack points!" His monster attack status increased into 5500.

"Sweet!" Artie beamed.

"Now, Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack on his knight and life points!"

Dark Magician seized his owner's command and zapped all the Royal Straight Flusher, erasing Artie's life points and ending the game. "Wow! That was so cool! You really are the King of Games." He said sportingly. "It's been an honor dueling you! I hope we can do this again, Yugi!"

"Of course, Artie. Just keep practicing and we'll duel again someday." Yugi said kindly, shaking his opponent's hand.

"Okay! I'll get some more powerful cards." The kind friendly curly-haired top said.

Everybody concluded their duels as well. From the balcony, Maximilian clapped loudly for the die-hard Duel Monster fans. "Well done, people!" He recommended. "Are we having a good time?"

"YEAH!" The participants yelled. The four friends kept eyes on the creator.

"Here you are, ladies and gentlemen. Your tools to create your own monsters out of the fragments of your imagination!" Pegasus tossed and handed out everyone the new electronics from the balcony. Everyone caught them in their hands, examining them and discovering stylus pens.

"What are these babies?" Tristan asked.

"Doodle Monster Pads or DMPs if you preferred to call it," Pegasus answered. "Sponsored by KaibaCorp, especially yours truly, Kaiba Boy."

The friends looked surprised. "KaibaCorp sponsored this contest?" Tèa spoke up. "That's a surprise."

"The last time I heard, Kaiba had a grudge against Pegasus for kidnapping his brother and taking his soul," Yugi said. "I wonder what made him had a change of heart toward him?"

"Probably just trying to reach the powerful god cards through him," Tèa guessed.

"You better watch your back, bro," Joey advised his best friend. "Rich boy may have something up his sleeve that could cream ya'."

"Nobody can cream Yugi Muto," Tristan said. "He's the King of Games."

"That's for sure." Tèa added.

Yugi chuckled modestly and scratched behind his head. "Heh, heh, heh. Well, I don't know about that."

"Feel free to draw whatever's on your mind, be creative and original, and good luck to you!" Pegasus announced cordially.

Everybody started doodling on their DMPs, thinking up their own card monsters.

"I bet my monster game is gonna rock," Joey said confidently. "It'll be a winner."

"Nuh-uh! Mine's gonna be cooler," Tristan disagreed. "It'll win for sure!"

"Nope, mine will win!" Joey argued.

"We'll see about that!" Tristan said in boosting tone.

"Is that a challenge?" Joey asked.

"Oh yeah! Whoever creates their own game first wins!" Tristan started.

"You're on!" Joey accepted.

The two boys scribbled on their DMPs. Tèa watched those two compete, snickered, and shook her head. "Those two are more competitive than any duelist I know," she said. "I won't be surprise if they'll just ending up bumping heads." She turned to her childhood friend. "Are you planning on creating your own monster game, Yugi?"

Yugi didn't answer. He has something on his mind, folding his arms. "Something on your mind, Yugi?" She poked through his thoughts.

"Hmm?" The spiky tricolored teen returned to attention. "Oh, nothing, Tèa. Just thinking about what my grandpa told me? Something about happening out of the usual even when you don't expect them to?"

"What does that mean?" Tèa asked.

Yugi shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he meant I might learn something new. Probably see a new god card or something."

"Yeah, everyday's the same thing." Tèa agreed. "You duel, and you duel, and nothing else." The two watched everyone else doodled on their electronics, preparing for another typical Duel Monsters contest. Little did they noticed that a bunch of shadows shaped like canines roamed around in the arena floor, creeping beneath the feet of the preoccupied duelists. One jackal-like shadow rose on the wall and leered vengefully at the unsuspecting King of Games as if it had a grudge with him in the past. It slithered along with the others, heading for the exit.

Outside the Dueling Arena, Shadi stood at the entrance, eying on things. He saw that the shadow creatures groveling from underneath the doors, stood out of the way as the shadows passed by. He saw that the otherworldly visitors may be a sign of a predisastrous event. He looked up in the blue sky and spotted a pink floating dot. It was a kitten-like Pokémon with blue eyes, little arms, and a long tail. It eyed back at the Egyptian tomb keeper and meowed in a sweet high note. Shadi kept his eyes on the mystic Pokémon and felt a familiar connection toward it. "Well look who it is," he said. "I haven't seen you since the days of the pharaoh, Mew."

"Mew." The pink mystic Pokémon replied.

"We must be on the lookout," Shadi addressed it. "I feel sinister shadows lurking among us."

"Mew!" It nodded in agreement.

"You saw the future too?" Shadi asked. "We must warn the pharaoh that Cerberus may return and try to destroy our world again. Keep an eye on the Pokémon, humans, and all living things, for they could be in grave danger."

"Mew!" Mew took off and flew away from the Dueling Arena while Shada magically disappeared from the entrance.

Mew flew all over Domino City, looking around. It saw that a swarm of shadow silhouettes were stalking in the corners, shades, and building walls of the blocks behind the pedestrians who did not seemed to notice them. Though when one silhouette passed a citizen who was talking on her cell phone, it electronically scrambled, making it difficult for the owner to hear its caller. "Hello? I can't hear you? What you'd say?" She hollered through the receiver.

More creature-shaped silhouettes snaked through the people at a cafe with electronics and creating chilling inferences among them. After the shadows have passed, the citizens around the cafe looked up and wondered what was that about. Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood were standing in the ally, back turned when the black creature silhouettes passed by them on the walls. Neither noticed them, until one paused between them, growled silently and moved on. "Hmm?" Both boys turned around and faced each other. "Did you say something?" They asked in unison.

The shadows were heading in a direction where the KaibaCorp building is located.

Inside the amazing gaming headquarters, Seto Kaiba, Yugi's arch-rival and the head of his own company was closeted in his office, on the computer, working on a new project. He is developing a virtual world for test-driving for the lucky winner and the finalists of the contest. It appeared that he had decided to sponsor Pegasus' new virtual game, only to link into beating his rival, Yugi Muto once and for all.

Kaiba was concentrating hard on his computer when his younger brother Mokuba entered his office. "Hey, Seto," he greeted. "Whatcha doing?"

"Working on a project for Maximilian Pegasus," Kaiba answered. "I'm creating a virtual world for the unlucky winner of the Create-Your-Game Contest. I've got a lot of inspirations since that interesting adventure in virtual world.

"I'm amazed that you decided to sponsor Pegasus' Create-A-Game Contest after everything he's done to us." Mokuba said. "I wouldn't forgive this guy for trapping our souls in his filthy cards.

"I know, little brother. I'm not exactly on his good side either, but it's the opportunity to challenge Muto head on without any interferences."

"Why am I not surprised?" Mokuba folded his arms. His brother would do anything to defeat the ultimate King of Games by all means necessary.

Outside, Mew arrived at the entrance of the KaibaCorp building. It meowed as it lowered itself in front of a Blue Eyes Dragon statue. It scrunched its cute face into a scary expression and hissed softly, matching the fanged grin of the dragon statue.

"Mew!" The Pokémon chirped as it cocked its head. It noticed that the same canine-shaped shadows slithered on the mirror walls of the building. They penetrated through the chinks of the glass squares and slipped through the cables of the computer system, breaking into the program. The operators noticed something unusual on the graphic screen and the pictures fizzled and flipped. They looked at the computers, wondering what's going on. "Huh?"

"What's with the computers?" They muttered out. Then suddenly, the electricity in the office was dimming. All the workers looked up in query.

In the head boss' office, the Kaiba brothers are also experiencing the same technical difficulties. "Huh?" Mokuba looked up.

"Oh, perfect. Looks like someone's messing with the circuit breaker again," Kaiba groused, dialing on his telephone to command one of his janitors to check the power room. "Phone's acting up too."

"Hey, Seto. Look at the computer," his brother pointed to the computer screen. "Is it a virus?" He pointed to a dark dog shape blur on the virtual background.

Kaiba took a look. "What in the-" He blurted out. "Now I have to remove this virus off my computer too. He grumbled and started typing the keyboards. Suddenly, a high-pitched whining shot from nowhere and attacked the brothers' ears who groaned and shielded their ears. "Ouch! Make it stop, Seto!" Mokuba yelped.

"Somebody get me security! Who's responsible for all this?!" Kaiba gritted his teeth. The brothers groaned and the whining noise died. They opened their eyes and saw that the black shape on the computer was gone. They gazed at the empty screen, wondering where did the virus go. Everything around them was back normal, like nothing happened. The machines started functioning again. Everything returned back to normal as before. The two brothers blinked, pondering what was it. "That was weird," Mokuba commented. "What was that all about?"

"Don't know, don't care." His brother replied, rubbing his head. "But whatever that was, it's probably just a glitch. Hard work can sometimes make your mind play tricks on you sometimes. But it's nothing, Mokuba. No force on Earth or Heaven is going to stop me from settling the score with Muto. As soon as this prototype software installs into computer system, I will enter the newly monster gaming world and defeat him once and for all."

"That sounds like a good plan. You always think big, Seto." Mokuba said. "But be careful, there are other duelists who are also after Yugi."

"Please!" Kaiba scoffed and smirked. "If anybody is going to defeat the King of Games and reclaim the crown, is going to be me! Only me!" He smirked and clenched his fist in avowal. "Besides, who else would be foolish enough to challenge Yugi Muto besides me?"


	7. Arrival In Domino City

**For Corina 0: Thank you very much**

**Sorry for the wait! Document trouble**

Meanwhile, back on the bus, Ash was inclined in his seat, asleep when he was awaken by a bump that shook the whole large vehicle. "Are we there yet?" He muttered out.

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse Pokémon also woke up from its nap.

Ash looked outside his window, viewing the beautiful green scenery. "Sure is a long drive." Brock said. Ash rested his head on his hand with his elbow on the pane.

May's stomach grumbled as a sign of emptiness. "Ooh!" She held her stomach. "I could use some more snacks." She stood up from her seat and looked into her bag.

Max, sitting next to his sister, was looking at Poké Nav as entertainment for the long ride. He was reading the news about the discovery of the Ball of the Underworld. He was fascinated by the image of the ancient artifact being displayed inside a glass case. He smiled as he is excited about seeing this exhibition once they get to Dynamo City. He also saw pictures of the hierographs of Pokémon, claiming that rare ones once lived in Ancient Egypt, including Mew who was once acquainted with the late pharaoh. Suddenly, the bus ran over a bump that made everyone jump in their seats. A pack of cards hit Max on the head from behind. "Ouch!" He muttered, his finger slipped and pressed a button that made him click to another link of a new topic.

The person from the back seat approached the kids' seats and picked up his card deck that slipped out of his hands off the floor next to them. "Sorry, my bad." He apologized and returned to his seat.

Max rubbed his head and was about to press the back icon button when something halted him. "Hmm?" He caught a glimpse of another story with different news. The head title read: "FREAK ACCIDENT AT THE EGYPTIAN EXCAVATION." There was some smoke pouring from the ancient ruins of the excavation.

"Accident?" Max looked deeper into the research and clicked on some links, finding more not-so-pretty stories and pictures. Roofs and columns of the ruins collapsed without warning. Few archeologists and researchers were rushed to ambulances, partially injured and stunned. There were no faculties though. The most weirdness he found was that Pokémon, assisting with the research, had falling into mysterious ailments. Words reflected on the boy's glasses as he absorbed and learned the eerie discoveries of the Ball of the Underworld.

"Pokémon fallen into mysterious coma."

"Psychic Pokémon faint while trying to undo the dark barrier protecting the Ball of the Underworld concealed inside a dark chamber."

"Dark barrier?" Max whispered.

It was written that the door of the chamber was sealed shut by impenetrable dark barrier casted by a sorcerer to keep out diggers so they don't find the ball. But even when they did manage to break the dark barrier and retrieve the treasure, more incidents happen. Digging jeeps and trucks exploded without any cause or explanation. Nobody was hurt, thank goodness. But they had to call a helicopter and service to pick up the remaining archeologists and the Ball of the Underworld. But the bad luck continued. The copter almost crashed when it arrived in Dynamo City. It had to arrive at the museum by parachute before anything else bad could happen.

Max could not believe what he was reading. "Whoa, man. What the heck had been going on over there?" He then gasped in wonder when he read the final item. He found out something even chilling.

"BALL OF THE UNDERWORLD CURSED OR CERBERUS LIVES?" Max felt a chilling ominous feeling within him, like something terrible is going to happen.

"Hey, Max." His sister broke into his thoughts and brought him back to reality.

"Huh?" Max blinked and heeded attention.

"What Pokémon do you think I should use?" May asked.

"Uh...I don't know," Max answered absently and turned back to his Poké Nav.

May turned around in her seat and faced a teenaged girl who was muttering and shuffling her card deck in her seat.

"So, excited about the big competition?" May attempted to make conversation. "Which Poke'mon are you going to use?"

"Huh?" The girl paused and looked up.

"I'm thinking about using Skitty or Beautifly, but I can't decide. Which do you think it?"

"Pokémon? I don't know what you're talking about!" The DM girl has not heard of Pokémon. "If you are asking for my rarest card, sorry but I need it for the tournament!" She retaliated in a atwitter tone. "Now please don't bother me, I'm trying to think of a good dueling strategy!" She must be preparing about the upcoming duel tournament in Domino City which the trainers are unaware that they are traveling there.

"Um, okay," May backed away and sat back on her seat. "What does she mean 'dueling strategy'? And why would she think that she wants her rarest card?

Ash and Pikachu examined their surroundings and observed at the passengers. There was something unusual about them. They don't see anyone with a belt of Poké Balls or a single Pokémon at all. "Uh, is it me, or do I not see any Pokémon at all?" He asked.

"Pika." Pikachu answered. He spotted another person shuffling his card deck. "Pika?" He pointed it to his owner.

"Card decks?" Ash saw it as well. "Since when do they use card decks in Pokémon battles?" He scratched his head in puzzlement as the person inserted his cards in the slot of his closed duel disk.

"Pikachu." His yellow comrade commented.

Brock was eying on some girls wearing cool futuristic outfits, chatting about their favorite monster cards. "So like, what card are you going to use?" The girl with long brown hair asked.

"Eh, probably my usual, Injection Fairy Lily," the other girl with short pink hair said.

"I think I'll use Princess of Tsurugi," the brown-haired girl said, holding her card of a woman with crystals.

"That looks like a good one, Shia," the pink haired girl said. "Don't lose it."

Brock looked at them lovingly. "I'd give a thousand of those cards just to be with you!" He thought dreamily.

Another duelist sitting behind the siblings was polishing his duel disk, readying it for activation.

Max stood up from his seat and eyed on the card gadget with admiration. "Pretty neat gadget, sir!" He said to the man. "What's it called?"

The person looked up and answered. "A duel disk."

"A what disk?"

"Hmm?" The duelist looked up and eyed on the youngest trainer weirdly. "Kid, this is the latest technology!" He said. "It's a common tool invented by KaibaCorp. You should get one too. Even you're old enough to use this puppy." He went back to polishing his duel disk.

Max frowned. "Okay..." He sat back down and pondered about what the person said. How can he be old enough to use a duel disk? He's never even used one, let alone heard one.

"Hey, we're here now." Brock said. And he was right. The bus pulled over to new terminal station and screeched to a halt. The engines hissed and the doors opened up. "Last stop, everybody out!" The bus driver said.

Everyone else got out their duel disks, placed them on the forearms, and activated them all at once. They are ready for dueling, all except the Pokémon trainers who gaped at them in awe. "Whoa!" Ash exclaimed.

"You better get your duel disks ready," a guy said. "The dueling tournament is about to begin."

"Dueling tournament?" Ash repeated. "What dueling tournament?"

"What's he talking about?" May asked.

"Are we missing something?" Brock asked.

"Who cares? Let's get off this bus now already!" Max said. "My legs are stiff from that long ride." The trainers stepped off the bus and headed straight.

At the baggage hold, the latched opened up. Everyone grabbed hold of their belongings, emptying the storage space and letting Team Rocket finally out of the stuffy cramped bin. "Ahh! Fresh air!" They said it together.

POP! "Wobbuffet!"

Shortly after the passengers got off, Ryou Bakura arrived at the terminal station and entered inside another bus which closed up already and departed. It was heading back to the Pokémon world. Seating on the front row, Bakura let his prized treasure, the Millennium Ring hang out from underneath his shirt, containing dark powers that can harm anyone who comes near it. His silvery white bangs completely covered his eyes, for he is heading straight for Dynamo City on a dark mission, for a certain dark reason.

The kids wandered through the populated urban streets, searching for anything to do with Pokémon. "Sure are a lot of people," Ash said.

"I wonder where is the Pokémon Contest supposed to take place?" May asked.

"Let's go to a Pokémon Center first," Brock suggested. "That is, if we can find one."

A tall man with sunglasses walked past them when Brock stopped him. "Excuse me, do you know where the nearest Pokémon center is?" He asked him.

The man frowned. "Kid, you must be wrong place," he said bluntly. "This is a city of Duel Monsters. The Pokémon World is on the other side." He walked away.

"Huh?" The gang felt completely confused.

"What's he talking about?" Ash asked. "What's on the other side?"

May turned to a light-skinned woman with white hair. "Excuse me, do you know what time the Pokémon contest starts?" She asked.

The albino woman stared at her in confusion. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. But I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." She said softly. "I've never even heard of Pokémon, dear. Sorry, wish I could help." She walked away.

The kids could not believe what they just heard. "What'd she say?" Max emitted.

"How can anyone not heard of Pokémon?" May gasped in shock.

"This is getting stranger," Ash said.

"Pikachu."

Max bumped into a short kid with turquoise bowl haircut and glasses. "Umph! Excuse me!" He uttered.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, pipsqueak?" Weevil Underwood snapped.

"Sorry." Max apologized. "Hey, do you any Pokémon around here?"

"Pokémon? Do I look a Pokémon trainer to you, punk?" Weevil retorted. "I played with Duel Monsters only! So get lost, kid!"

Max started to protest. "But I just-"

"You know what? I've got a lot of important things to do than mess around with you losers!" Weevil stomped away.

"Geez, who spit gum in his hair?" Max said. "Talk about rude!"

They spotted a duel match going on. There is a Kuriboh and a Alligator's Sword Dragon facing each other. "Hey, what kind of Pokémon are those?" Ash asked, getting out his Pokédex and aimed it at Kuriboh.

"ERROR! POKÉMON UNKNOWN!" Dexette said. "NO DATA AVAILABLE."

"No data? What's up?" Ash pondered.

"I can't get anything on mine either." May said.

"Maybe there's interference," Max said.

Ash tested Dexette on Pikachu. "PIKACHU, THE MOUSE POKÉMON. FEEDS MAINLY ON FRUIT. MOST OF THE TIME, IT'S GENTLE AND SWEET. BUT WHEN THREATENED, IT USES ITS RED CHEEKS TO DISCHARGE 1000 VOLTS OF ELECTRICITY TO STUN ITS ENEMIES."

"Pikachu."

"It works okay," Ash said.

"Could they be new Pokémon?" Max asked.

"Those aren't Pokémon, Max," Brock said. "They're Duel Monsters."

"Duel Monsters?" The gang repeated.

"They're holographic monsters that form out from trading cards by playing disk gadgets." Brock explained.

"Really? That sounds cool. Never heard of them." Ash said.

"Pika."

"But it's totally weird. Usually, you only see them only in the..." Brock cut his sentence short when something hit him like a piece of brick.

"What?" The friends asked together.

"Wait a minute..." Brock mumbled as his eyebrow raised up when he realized something.

"What's the matter, Brock?" Ash asked.

"Uh, guys?" He spoke up.

"Yeah?" The friends answered.

"I...I don't think we're in Dynamo City at all. We are in Domino City!" Brock declared the truth.

"Domino City?!" The friends shouted together in shock. They imagined a large row of standing spotted tiles tipping and toppling over one after another in the background, a domino effect.

"Pikachu!"

"It can't be!" Ash said.

"There has to be a mistake!" May said.

"No mistake here." Max looked up in his Poké Nav. "According to the Poké Nav, we are presently in Domino City. 100% accurate!"

"We must have got into the wrong bus!" Brock declared. "I guess that's explains why nobody's heard of Pokémon or the Pokémon contest!"

The friends glared furiously at their leader. "You said it would take us to Dynamo City!" May ejaculated.

"How could you make a mistake like that, Ash?" Max added.

"I-I-I I don't understand!" Ash stammered. "I was pretty sure the sign said 'Dynamo City'!"

"Pikachu!" His yellow comrade shrugged its arms in query.

"Well, you must have misread it because look where we are!" Max said.

"We're in Domino instead of Dynamo!" May added.

"Nice use of direction, Mr. GPS!" Brock said, folding his arms.

Ash was caught in the circle of blame, formed by his discontent friends. "Well, don't get mad at me!" He spoke up to defend himself. "It...it...it wouldn't have happen if a certain little kid with glasses hadn't gone to the little boy's room!"

"What? Are you implying it's my fault?" Max responded.

"Well, yeah! It is partially your fault!" Ash said. "You've should have hold it until we got to Dynamo City!"

"Hey, excuse me for being a little kid!" Max retorted. "But if a certain girl with pigtails had gone with me instead of going to the gift shop, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I hope you're not talking about me!" May rebutted. "If Brock hadn't gone to the snack shop, we wouldn't have missed our bus!"

"What? When's it my job to watch the bus?" Brock rebutted. The friends started bickering about whose fault it was.

Nearby, Mokuba Kaiba was strolling in the blocks, waiting for his brother when caught sound from the argument annd noticed the disputing gang of Pokémon trainers.

"Okay guys! Let's cool it!" Brock ceased the quarrel. "Arguing won't solve anything. Let's just find out the next bus schedule and see if we can get a another ride back."

Ash checked the bus schedule on the bus stop sign. "The next one's in four hours." He said. "How much money do we have left?"

May's face turned green when she dug inside her handbag. "None. We spent all of it on snacks and souvenirs!"

The gang was struck with a blue streak of despair. "Pikachu!"

"Does this mean we're stuck here?" Max choked out.

"I'll miss my contest!" May wept. "There goes my next ribbon!"

"We are stuck here in a city of Duel Monsters and no Pokémon center and it's all your fault, Ash Ketchum!" Brock added.

They have really hit rock bottom. They are stranded in a city that never even heard of Pokémon or a center that can heal their Pokémon. No money, no transportation, no hope of getting back in time for the Pokémon Contest at Dynamo City. Mokuba sensed the trainers may be in a snag and decided to see if they need help, not to mention get to know the new people with a new different creature.

Ash, May, Brock, Pikachu, and Max wandered into the Domino Plaza, feeling hopeless and discouraged. They sighed and sat on the ringed peddled seat of the clock pole water fountain, pondering what will they do next until someone else approached them. Mokuba who is a few feet taller than Max had arrived at the clock fountain, greeting the quartet. "Hi there." He said in a young kind voice.

"Huh?" The gang looked up to see who is the visitor.

"You guys look bummed. Is everything okay?" Mokuba asked.

"Not really. We had a little mix-up at the bus terminal. We wanted to go to Dynamo City, but instead we ended in Domino City." Max explained. "Now we're stuck here with no money to get ride back, thanks to a certain dimwit with the cap!" Ash glared at him.

"Pika!"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Mokuba said pityingly.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," May said. "I guess it was bad luck that struck us today."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mokuba offered.

"Thanks, but we wouldn't want to trouble you with our problems," Ash said.

"No, I guess not." Mokuba said. He noticed Pikachu sitting on the trainer's shoulder. "You guys are Pokémon trainers, aren't you?"

"You heard about Pokémon?" Ash's face lit up.

"Of course, doesn't anyone?" Mokuba answered. "You're from the other side of the world, right?"

"That's right!" The gang in unison. Finally, things are starting to look up for them.

"That's nice." Mokuba took a look at Pikachu. "That's a Pikachu, right?"

"Hmm-mmm." Ash nodded.

"Pikachu!"

"May I?" Mokuba requested.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Ash granted. He urged Pikachu to get acquainted with the long haired boy.

"Pikachu!"

"My brother doesn't believe in these fascinating creatures," Mokuba said, petting Pikachu. "I've always wanted to see a Pokémon up close!"

"That's too bad," Brock said. "That your brother doesn't believe in Pokémon, that is."

"If you want, I can help you get tickets to back where you belong," Mokuba offered. "His company also distributes the bus company."

"Really? That would be awesome!" Ash beamed ecstatically.

"Thanks a bunch!" Brock said.

"No problem." The long-haired boy smiled warmly. "By the way, I'm Mokuba."

"Nice to meet you, Mokuba," Ash said. "I'm Ash."

"And I'm Brock." The spiky-haired guy added.

"My name is May," the twin-tailed brunette said.

Max snickered. "What kind of weird name is Mokuba?" He muttered.

May tapped her brother on the shoulder. "Max, be polite!" She scolded. "Don't listen to him, Mokuba!" She assured the shaggy dark-haired boy. "It's a nice name really."

"Uh, thanks, I guess." Mokuba said. "Anyway, let me go ask my brother about those tickets and I'll get back to you."

"Thanks again, Mokuba," Ash said. "We really appreciate it." Just then, Mokuba's older brother Kaiba walked outside the KaibaCorp building with a suitcase.

"Here's my brother!" Mokuba rushed to him. "Hey, Seto!" He walked by him. "We need to talk."

"Whatever it is can wait, Mokuba." Kaiba said sternly.

"But there's some people that need some bus tokens," Mokuba said.

Kaiba spotted the Poké quadrant. "Who are those strangers?" He asked. He then spotted Pikachu on Ash's shoulder. "What is that thing on this boy's shoulder?" He asked.

"Pika?" Ash blinked at the tall brown-haired teen in front of him.

"It's a Pikachu, Seto," Mokuba said. "You know, a Pokémon."

"Pokémon?" Kaiba scoffed. "Please, those things are a waste of time! They're just animals which experiments gone horribly wrong."

The group were stunned at what he said.

"Of course, if I had one of those strongest Pokémon, I'd still beat Muto in a flash! Nothing can stomp on me!" Kaiba stated vaingloriously.

"Huh?" The Pokémon trainers looked at him like he's a conceited egomaniac. (Of course, he's always acted like a conceited egomaniac because he is one.)

"You know what? I don't have time for this!" Kaiba rudely pushed aside them. "I've got more important things to do right now."

The gang appeared astounded by his behavior. Mokuba just sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Gee, he seems like a nice guy." Max said sarcastically.

"Charming personality." Brock said sarcastically.

"Real helpful," May added.

"His brash attitude sure reminds of a certain someone," Ash said. He thought about his former rival Gary Oak who decided to become a Pokémon professor instead of a Pokémon master. Although they are allies, there is still a spark between them about who knows more about Pokémon than who.

"I'm really sorry, guys," Mokuba apologized. "I guess he's a little occupied at the moment. He must be excited about the Create-A-Game Contest. I'm sorry I couldn't get you tickets back home right away."

"Don't worry about that, Mokuba," Ash said. "We appreciated you trying to help."

"Well, as soon as the contest ends and my brother's free, I'll try again." Mokuba was about to take off. "Later!" He ran to catch up with his brother.

Max waved him bye. "So now what?" May asked.

Ash folded his arms. "Well, since we're stuck here, we might as well go look around." He suggested. And so, the quadrant took a mini tour around game themed city.

Back behind, Team Rocket dawdled at the streets of Domino City, sighting the metropolitan view. "Wow, sure is big." Jessie said.

"Look at all food stores!" Meowth pointed out. "Think we could stop and get a bite?"

"No time for that, Meowth." Jessie replied. "First we must find those twerps and get that Pikachu. If we can find them." They walked around the busy city, looking for any kind of Pokémon. But all they saw were Duel Monsters battling each other on the streets.

"Speaking of which, I don't see any," James said. "Do you recognize any of these Pokémon?"

"They oddly don't look like Pokémon to me," Jessie said, eying on a Magician of Faith.

"I don't even understand their language," Meowth added.

"Something tells me we're in the wrong place," James said.

"Hey, YOU!" Someone from direction addressed the them.

"Huh?" Team Rocket turned around. A bunch of duelists faced with determined faces and duel disks activated.

"We challenge you to all duel!" The first person declared.

"Duel?" Team Rocket repeated.

"Is he challenging us?" James asked.

"Should I get my claws out?" Meowth asked.

"Wobbuffet!" The patient Pokémon popped out of its Poké ball.

"Get 'em!" The mob of duelists inserted their cards in their duel disks and the holographic monsters emerged and all pounced on startled and screaming Team Rocket.

Meanwhile, the Poké gang came across a battle gym full of monsters. "Dueling Arena'," Ash read. "Looks interesting. Let's go check inside." The quadrant entered the Dueling Arena. They arrived just in time see the demonstration of the contestants' creative monsters. It was crowded with people so the trainers had to tiptoed to see what was happening on the floor of the arena. "I wonder what's in here?" Ash wondered.

The quadrant politely push aside the people and got a good view of the battle floor. There, they spotted a couple of duelists alined with their originally created monsters, ready for showing off.

"Whoa, would you look at all those monsters?" Ash commented.

"They don't look scary at all to me," May said. "In fact, they look kinda of cute!"

"Hey, lemme see!" Max shouted. He jumped up and down, trying to see the battle. Brock picked him up and placed him on top of his shoulders for the smallest member to see. "Much better, thanks, Brock!"

Brock nodded in return.

"Take a look at my Candy Monster!" A girl with pink twin tails took out her sugarcoated fairy and it flew around the gym atmosphere, spraying rainbow sprinkles over the awed people.

"Pretty!" May exclaimed, eyes gleaming.

"Nice. I wonder what's it all about?" Ash asked.

"Didn't Mokuba mention there was a contest?" Brock asked.

"It was a Create-A-Game Contest or something like that," May said. "This must be one of them."

Max, riding on Brock's shoulders watched the performance of the contestants' monsters when he spotted Yugi Muto standing in the crowd. "Hey, look at that black and purple spiky hair on that short guy's head!" Max pointed his finger to the King of Games. "It looks like it's on fire!"

"Max, hush!" May tiptoed at Brock's height and put her brother's arm down. "Remember what Mom said, it's not polite to stare or point." Max chuckled apologetically and went back to the contest.

"I present to you my own Rock Monsters where everything always rock and roll!" Called a muscular man in a gray undershirt who summoned his army of boulder minions to life which all flexed their rock-limbed muscles and tossed their rock balls in the air and punched them up into tiny pieces. The crowd oohed.

"Well I just created a special weather monster, Terror Tornado!" An anchorman reported and sent his tornado-shaped creature and swirled its opponent's rock army into its funnel, creating a blue hail storm.

Everyone aahed in wonder, including the trainers. Ash and Pikachu were fascinated by the show of various magical and powerful creatures summoned from DMPs. He must admit that these holographic monsters in this world are super awesome, as awesome as catching Pokémon. It almost beats attending another Pokémon contest. It was worth missing a bus, they had learned something new. "Think you can do that, Pikachu?" Ash said to his Pokémon.

"Pikachu!"

On the other side of the battle floor, Yugi, smiling, was watching the demonstration when his violet eyes wandered into the audience. His sight stopped at the boy with the Pikachu and the Poké gang in the thick crowd, rousing curiosity within him. Ash who was watching the monsters also turned his head away for a minute and caught glimpse of the King of Games across him. The two of them stared at each other for a while, feeling a faint connection between them. Neither of them know it, but they are destined to become friends in the future, even though they're from different worlds. That will not come about right away or later, but the two heroes of different boundary sides will reunite the world and become friends. They just don't know it yet.

Then a tall guy stepped in front of Ash, cutting off eye contact between the Pokémon Master and King of Games. Yugi lost sight of Ash and wondered who was that. "What's the matter, Yugi?" Téa asked.

"Oh, nothing, Tèa." Yugi answered and turned back to the competition. Inside his Millennium Puzzle, the spirit, the Pharaoh also saw Ash and his Pikachu through his partner.

"That boy with a Pikachu...Have I seen them somewhere?" He thought. "Probably not..."

"Yo! Check mine out!" Joey stepped in with his created monster. "Meet my Dino-Warriors!" His army of dinosaurs in armor marched from his DMP and danced on the floor.

"That is original," Max said.

"Ha! Your lizard boys compare nothing to my Robot Men!" Tristan announced. He brought out his futuristic men in titanium suits with laser eyes. Everyone was impressed.

"Oh yeah? We'll just see! ATTACK!" Joey commanded his Dino-Warriors to charge at his Robot Men.

"Go get 'em, Robot Men!" Tristan shouted. His metallic men rushed at their opponents. In a flash of light, both of the boys' armies were vaporized into dust. The crowd was amused that they were so powerful that they destroyed each other. Joey and Tristan chuckled.

"That was amusing," Tèa said.

"It was a good try," Yugi said.

"Anybody else?" Pegasus called out. "Anyone? Come on, people! Surely someone left has to have one good idea left. Will anyone step up please and get this contest rolling?"

No one else took a shot, but that was about to change. Ash could not resist a challenge. He grinned and felt like he was going to explode with excitement. "Let me take a go!" He rose his hand up in determination.

"Pikachu!" His furry little comrade jumped up in spirit.

"Huh?" Everyone, including Yugi and friends looked that way and saw the determined Pokémon trainer stepping in the open floor. Pegasus placed full attention on Ash and Pikachu as well.

"Ash, wait a second!" Brock spoke up.

"Allow me to show you what my 'Pocket Monster'!" Ash stated with confidence. "Go, Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse Pokémon stepped onto the floor, ready for action.

The people gawked at the electric rodent, wondering what it is and where'd it come from. "What the heck is that thing?" Joey asked.

"It's so cute!" Tèa said.

Yugi kind of recognized the mouse Pokémon. "It's a..." He spoke out.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu sprinted faster than a speeding bullet, zooming past the monsters' feet which they looked down insensibly. The people could barely keep eyes on it. They awed and muttered how does a little mouse like that run so fast.

"Now use Iron Tail!" Ash said it with a cool grin.

Pikachu jumped and hopped on top of each and every one of the monsters' heads. Its tail glowed white and it somersaulted, firing out the Iron Tail. The people exclaimed as they quickly ducked out of the way just in time before the white Iron Tail attacks hit the wall. Pegasus was astonished. And so was Yugi. "He's good." May said.

Ash was about to wrap this up. "Alright, give them the big finale!"

"PIKACHU!" Pikachu leaped high in the air and unleashed a storm of thunderbolts in the air, yellow bolts vaporized the rest of all the contest monsters on the floor. The people exclaimed as the lightning sparks almost hit them. After the finish, Pikachu landed on its feet, next to its proud trainer who smirked and stood in triumph.

Silence fell upon the arena. The duelists never saw anything like this before, especially not something in dueling world, but from the Pokémon world. They stared at the Pokémon trainers who felt uneasy. "Uh...this is awkward," Brock said.

Pegasus, who saw everything from the balcony was also speechless. "Well...I...I must say, I honestly never seen anything like this before, ever." He managed to bring out an amused smile and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a winner!" He declared. "Give it up for the young man and his Pocket Monster!" He pointed to Ash and Pikachu who were surprised by what they just heard. "What?"

"Pika?"

"What?" Brock asked.

"What?" May and Max uttered.

"What?" Yugi spoke up in surprise.

"What?" Tristan and Tèa uttered in next turn.

"Say what?" Joey ejaculated.

"WHAT?" All the duelists ejaculated in unison.

"You heard me right, folks." Pegasus said, getting off the balcony. "I don't know where this young man come from or where did he get such an impressive animal, but hey, a winner's a winner, right!"

Everybody applauded for the confused Pokémon trainers. "Um, this is getting weirder by the minute," Max said.

"What the hey!" Brick said. "This is better than sitting at the fountain doing nothing."

Pegasus approached the trainers. "Congratulations, children," he greeted. "You have passed! You shall be privileged for you get to test out the new game and be the first guests of my new amusement park in progress!"

"Sorry, but that was a mistake," May said. "We didn't enter this contest and we're not in this world."

"We're Pokémon trainers, not duelists." Ash added. "You see, this one is my Pokémon. It's not even included in one of your card thingies. His name's actually Pikachu, and he's real."

"Pikachu!"

Everyone gasped. A Pokémon in their world? The dueling world? Pokémon trainers in the Duel Monsters world! "Really? This changes everything!" Pegasus didn't seemed too worried.

"Now hold on!" A man protested.

"They're not even duelists!" Another guy protested. "They're not even in our world! They should be disqualified!"

"Nonsense! Duelist or not, everyone deserves a chance! Even these four." Pegasus said. "I think these fine children will make fine game testers. It may be a new age for all of us!" He turned to the children. "Come, my creative darlings. We have so much to do and so little time." He escorted the curious Pokémon trainers out of the arena floor.

Yugi, Joey, Tèa, and Tristan stood there stunned by the events of today. "Uh, what just happened here?" Joey spoke up.

"We just been gypped by a kid with a lightning mouse!" Tristan said.

"Guys, that was a Pikachu," Yugi said.

"How do you know, Yugi?" Tèa asked.

"I saw it on TV," Yugi answered. "They're called Pokémon. But I thought they only exist in video games. Never thought I'd see one up close, especially in this world."

"So what, they like crossed over?" Joey asked.

"Could be," Yugi answered. "Let's follow them." The dueling quadrant made to the exit.

Outside in the big streets, Team Rocket was getting creamed by a pack of enthusiastic duelists, round after round. They crashed onto the streets, all soiled and fried, and groaned in anguish. "Those are really powerful Pokémon," James moaned.

"Never felt anything like this!" Meowth groaned.

"How much more can we take?" Jessie lamented.

"How's this for ya?" A kid chaffed. "Ready for another beating?" He was about to place another card in the slot of the duel disk.

"Forget them, dude!" A teen guy said. "They're too lame to continue. I don't think they're even duelists. Let's get out of here!"

The disappointed duelists left the loser trio alone, laying on the street. Jessie lifted her head up and spat out dirt from her mouth. "Well, that was very displeasurable!" She growled. "How dare they make a monkey out of us with their so-called fancy cards! Just you wait! As soon as we find those pretty wrist gadget thingies and those new Pokémon cards, we'll turn the tables and they'll regret they ever encountered Team Rocket!"

"Look, it's the twerps!" Meowth pointed. There they spotted Ash, Pikachu, May, Brock, and Max leaving the Dueling Arena and entering Pegasus' white limousine.

"Aha!" Jessie exclaimed. "At last, we got them in our sights! Let's go!" The Team Rocket trio instantly recovered and scurried over to the long vehicle and hitched a ride underneath. As soon as everybody got on, the limousine drove off. Yugi, Tèa, Joey, and Tristan stepped out the Dueling Arena just in time to see the new people go with Duel Monsters creator.

"There they go," Joey said.

"Off to KaibaCorp," Tristan added.

"I hope those kids know what they're getting into," Tèa added.

"Let's follow them, you guys," Yugi suggested.

His friends looked at him in question. "Why's that, Yug?" Joey asked.

"Pegasus might have change, but he could still try to do something crazy to those new kids," Yugi answered. "They don't know him like we do and they could end up in a pickle. After all, they from the opposite side of the world."

"That's true. We better keep eyes on them," Tèa agreed. She and her friends skedaddled and tailed on Pegasus' trail.

The white limousine stopped at last in front of building of KaibaCorp. The chauffeur got out and let the passengers out and they all walked inside the building. A couple of security guards awaited the guests at the lobby and escorted them to their destination.

Team Rocket dropped off from underneath the limo and crawled from underneath. "What a fancy building!" Meowth said.

"I bet it's real loaded!" Jessie said.

"From what I heard, KaibaCorp is one of the biggest and richest companies on the whole planet," James said.

"Just think how many presents we could give to the Boss," Meowth said.

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Jessie said. "Let's go!" She and her crew went to the back of the building to sneak in. Yugi and his gang also arrived at the KaibaCorp and entered inside.

Pegasus and the trainers walked down hall where the walls are covered with pictures and posters of Duel Monsters. The kids looked at them with fascination. "Look at the pictures of those monsters and creatures." Max said. "They look like the ones in fairy tale books."

"What are they called again?" May asked.

"Duel Monsters, my dear," Pegasus answered. "If you want to know, I was the one who created them. I created them out of inspiration from the Egyptian hierographs during my trip to Cairo. Not only that but I also breathed life into these puppies, with a little bit of 'magic'. Hee hee! Of course, Kaiba Boy was the one who thought of holograms to make them look real. Pretty fascinating story, don't you think?"

"That's nice," Ash said. "But can you do Pokémon trading cards too? That would be a hit too!"

"Yeah, a world phenomenon," Brock agreed.

"Some of these monsters look so cute!" May said.

"And weirdly, human," Max said.

Brock stopped and stared at a poster of Dark Magician Girl, smiling and blushing. A guard pushed him along.

The group were nearly at the game developing land.

"What do you think of KaibaCorp, not too shabby, eh?" Pegasus said. "Of course, my place has more class than this humble factory. You should come check it out and visit me sometime. Hee hee!" They at last came across a sealed door that leads to the laboratory. Pegasus pressed a button on the intercom and spoke through the speaker. "You hoo? Anybody there? We're here!" He announced in sing-song.

At once, the door opened and the group entered the lab. Yugi, Joey, Tèa, and Tristan kept track on the DM creator and Pokémon Trainers from the hallway from behind, closing in on the lab.

A young boy with long black hair approached the guests with a clipboard. "May I ask for your names, please?" He requested. He looked up and recognized the visitors from before. "Hey, you guys again!"

"Hi, Mokuba." The gang said.

"You guys are the winners of the Invent-A-Game Contest?" Mokuba asked in wonder.

"Yeah," May answered. "It's kind of weird."

"It was kind of my idea," Ash admitted. "Let's just say I dragged us into this contest." He itched his face with his finger.

"He put up a great show at the Dueling Arena," Max pointed it. "I guess he couldn't resist showing off." Ash chuckled slyly as he scratched his nose.

"That's fine enough," Mokuba accepted. "Seto, the winners are here." His brother entered the lab to greet the winners.

"Oh, it's you guys again," he said, remembering their first encounter.

"You're the owner of KaibaCorp?" Ash asked.

"Duh! His last name is Kaiba," Max said. "So of course he owns KaibaCorp!"

"Let's make this fast, people," Kaiba said austerely. "I'm very busy person and I have a very tight schedule to keep."

"Shouldn't we do a interview with them first, Seto?" Mokuba said.

"That takes too much time and studies," Kaiba said coolly. "That's why we have technology to speed things up." He addressed to the trainers. "I assume you got all your resources together?"

"Uh, resources?" Ash repeated.

"In order to create a copy of your demos, I have to have your set of resources so I can make sure that I get everything all accurate and no mistakes, otherwise."

The gang gulped. "Mistakes?" Max repeated.

"Now, do you or do you not have the resources for the test drive? Hurry up, you're already wasting 2 minutes of my precious time!" Kaiba said impatiently. His attitude sure scares them.

Ash dug into his back pocket and took out his Poké Dex. "Here, this might help."

"And mine too." May took out hers as well."

Kaiba gently snatched the Poké Dexes off their hands and placed them in the slots of a data scanning programs on his computer. "Hmmm..." He examined the computer screen. "Very interesting." He viewed all of the data collected in the Pokédexes on the computer screen, downloading the graphics and bits from the images of the Pokémon profiles.

Outside the lab entrance, Yugi and his pals leaned onto the sealed door, trying to listen in for sounds and conversation. "What do you think they're doing in there?" Tèa asked.

"I can't hear anything," Yugi said.

"Too much noise in there," Joey said.

"That's my stomach," Tristan said. "Haven't eaten lunch."

Back inside the lab, Kaiba's computer stopped humming and downloaded enough data and bitmaps transported them in the large dome shaped machine, possibly the experiment. "There, I download the data and images from your Pokédexes and designed monsters based on the Pokémon you encountered and programmed them into the virtual world you will be playing in," the brunet president of the company said. "It will also be an adventure game based on your journey back in your side world. It will be neither hard nor easy, just depending on your levels of experience. Watch out though, there might be unexpected challenge that even you noobs can yet take on."

The trainers felt very excited and anxious about getting this virtual testing on. "Mokuba, if you would be so kind," Kaiba ordered his brother.

"Here we go!" Mokuba switched on the power, warming up the very large machine, activating the new "world" inside.

"Do you hear some humming inside or is it just me?" Joey asked.

"It's not just you, Joey," Tèa said.

"Guys, I've got a funny feeling about this," Yugi said.

"Me too." Tristan said. "That, and I got gas."

The gang eyed at the miracle virtual dome in wonder. Max whistled. "Nice."

"Now that's technology." Brock said.

"Alright, weirdos. If you'll step through the electrical portal, your bodies will be scanned and your molecules will fuse with the binary codes in the hard drive. All your feelings and expressions, including your hunger points will be included into the virtual world. It will be almost just like the real world."

"However, even if what you felt in there felt real, it's not really real at all." Kaiba continue them. "Remember, it's only a game and it's all in your head." His eyebrow lowered down more. "But do me a favor though, since this virtual dome is a prototype and you're its first testers, use caution and play wisely. We wouldn't want any unfortunate mishaps on your first try and KaibaCorp will not be hold responsible if anything happens to you." His blue eyes stared at them seriously which gave them butterflies in their stomachs.

"Don't worry, guys. You'll be fine!" Mokuba consoled the nervous trainers. "We checked out all the bugs before you arrived, so nothing can go wrong." That was real encouraging.

One bye one, the Pokémon trainers anxiously stepped through the archway scanner, onward to the entrance of the game dome.

"Good luck, fellows!" Pegasus called and gave them a thumbs up.

And so, Ash and his friends walked toward a very bright light, stepping into the virtual world of new monsters, hoping the experiment will come to good results.


	8. Enter the Virtual World

Ash, Brock, May, Max, and Pikachu crossed over the new virtual world. They opened their eyes and anticipated what they would find. They gasped in awe at what they viewed. They are located at a green and peaceful-looking forest with tall trees. Sunlights peaked through thick boughed lines. "Check it out!" Max beamed in wonder.

"It's so 3D!" Brock said.

"It's so pretty!" May exclaimed. She examined the beautiful and colorful flowers in the grass.

"Pika!" Pikachu picked up a dandelion and white seeds flew off from the petals, floating in the air. The kids laughed in amusement.

"This is just like back home!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pikachu!"

"I love how they did with the graphics," Brock said.

Then a family of adorable gopher-like animals scattered in the grass by the feet of the friends. "Oh, how cute!" May admired

Max was impressed when he saw a flying lizard taking off from a tall grass and the others joining its leader. Brock saw the longest worm-like rock creature slithering around a tree bark. "This is definitely just like back in the Pokémon world!" Max said.

"I wonder how do you catch these things?" Ash asked, looking a stingray like "Pocket Monster".

"Pikachu!" His partner pointed to a object glowing inside Ash's pocket.

"Huh?" Ash looked at his pocket and took out a strange and unfamiliar orb resembling a Poké ball. "Where'd that come from?"

"I think you're supposed to throw that thing at that creature in front of you," Brock said.

"Let's find out!" Ash gripped on his "Poké ball". "Poké ball, go!" He threw the white shining ball at the stingray creature, capturing it and obtaining it inside the orb. It bounced back into Ash's pocket, claiming it as his tamed "Pocket Monster".

"What just happened?" Ash asked.

"I think you just caught it, Ash," Brock said.

"I guess that's why it's called 'Pocket Monsters'," May said.

"That was too easy," Ash said, hands on hips. "Let's find some more!" And so, Ash and the gang hiked on through the woods.

Kaiba, Mokuba and Pegasus observed them from the video surveillance. "Looks like they're getting the hang of it," Mokuba said.

"This is the beginning level," Pegasus informed, watching the trainers. "It's for those on the first try. But wait until the next level. It gets better." Kaiba remained silent as he kept watching the video.

Outside the lab entrance, Yugi, Joey, Tèa, and Tristan were still leaning onto the sealed wall, trying to find out what activity is taking place. "I wonder what are they doing in there?" Yugi asked.

"I hope those kids are doing okay," Tèa commented.

"We need to find a way to get in there," Joey said. "I wanna check out the new game too."

"To open the door, you need like one of those ID cards to gain access from that security box," Tristan said.

"So where can we find one?" Joey thought deeply.

Suddenly, Yugi heard some footsteps approaching the door. "I hear someone coming." He said. "Stand back." He and friends stepped clear from the door as it opened up. An engineer stepped out from the laboratory, going on his lunch break. The door immediately closed again. The four friends leaned on the wall, acting all cool when he walked past them. Tristan whistled. When the engineer was gone, the friends relaxed again.

"Alright then. Let's go in!" Joey said.

"Uh, Joey, we don't have an access card, remember?" Yugi reminded his friend.

"On the contrary, we do now!" Joey snickered and proudly jiggled a loop of keys, containing a security card in his hand. He had secretly snatch from that engineer when he walked past them. His three chums gazed at their friend with amazement. "How did you get a hold of those, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Hee hee hee! It was piece of cake, I was slick as oil," the blond guy grinned cockily as he headed for the sealed door. "Hee hee hee!"

"You took from the-" Tèa spoke up.

"You can thank me later," He interrupted her and slid the card down in the access slot on the box and opened the door. "Víola! Open sesame!"

"Nice move, dude," Tristan said.

"Ugh! One of these days you're going to get us in trouble, Joey." Tèa said, folding her arms.

"But not today," Joey said in sing-song, scratching his nose. "I got us in, didn't I?" He and his friends entered the laboratory at last. They gazed at the sights of the room full of machinery. Tèa awed at the prototyped inventions and wires hanging from ceilings as decorations. "Whoa..." Joey said.

"Awesome!" Yugi said.

"I'm in tech heaven." Tristan said.

"What's that thing?" Joey pointed to the virtual dome.

"Is that the new gaming system?" Yugi asked.

"This must be the project Kaiba was working on," Tèa said. The friends approached Pegasus and the Kaiba brothers.

"Hey guys!" Yugi greeting.

Mokuba looked up and noticed them.. "Hey, itt's Yugi and the guys." He said in response.

"How did you guys get in here?" A engineer said. "This is a restricted area."

"It's alright, my dear fellow," Pegasus said. "You're just in time to witness the game testing." He pointed to the camera screen. "See these kids right here? They're the brave volunteers who will passed this game with flying colors."

The friends took a look at the camera screen and spotted Ash and crew. "Well, it looks like they're doing okay," Joey said. "I think we got nothing to worry about after all."

"Maybe..." Yugi kept eyes on things.

The Poké gang were doing alright on their quest. They captured a few Pocket Monsters so far. They looked like they were about to pass this level.

Pikachu's ears flicked up when it heard something. "Pika!" It turned its head around.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Do you hear something?"

They felt a faint rumbling in the distant. There is something lurking in the thick of the forest. "It's coming from over there." Max pointed to the neck of the woods.

The rumbling got louder. It stomped through the shades of the trees, pushing some aside. The friends anticipated in caution. Something large and furry trudged through the woods, growling. "Is it a Pocket Monster?" Max asked.

"I don't know," Ash said. "But whatever it is, it sounds pretty big."

Suddenly, the stomping noise ceased, making the woods silent again. The friends stared at the walls of the trees in curiosity. Breaking the silence, an enormous bear-like creature exploded from the trees and stood in front of the startled quadrant. Ash took a gander at it. It didn't look like a Ursaring they knew. But it looked pretty dangerous, nothing like a regular bear. It had large killer red paws, a long snout, thick spiky white mane, brown stripes on its back, a long bushy tail, and thick muscular legs that lets it stand and walk on its hind leg for a periods of time. It bellowed at the top of its lung, shaking the whole forest. The friends exclaimed in alarm as they stumbled backwards. "What is that thing?" May ejaculated.

"It's huge!" Max exclaimed.

"It looks like the boss level!" Mokuba said, checking the bear beast's status. "Its status is..." He gasped. "Level 15! That's way to high for a beginner!"

"But that wasn't supposed to be programmed like that!" Pegasus said. "I swear! Somebody rigged it!"

"But that's how it is," Kaiba said. "Those fools are going to have to figure it out how to take it down."

Yugi and friends gawked at the camera screen with concern.

The bear-like beast stomped its paws in front of the Pokémon gang. "That thing looks too huge to take on!" Max said.

"None of our Pocket Monster are strong enough to fight that thing!" May said.

"Any ideas?" Brock asked.

"Retreat!" Ash shouted.

The friends tried to flee from danger, but the bear jumped in front of them, trapping them. "It's no use!" Max shouted.

"We can't escape!" May cried

"We'll have fight it then!" Ash held out his Pocket Balls and threw them. "Come out, everyone!"

"GO!" Brock unleashed his Pocket Monsters as well.

"Fight with everything you got!" May called out her Pocket Monsters.

All of the Pocket Monsters the trainers had caught earlier appeared on the field, ready for battle. "ATTACK!" Ash commanded.

The Pocket Monsters charged and tried to fight off the big high-leveled beast, "clothing" its furry body. But the bear creature growled in annoyance and shook off its weaker opponents off itself. The little Pocket Monsters bounced to the ground, some got wiped and shattered to pieces in defeat due to the great force. They got stomped, smashed and slashed by the brutal bear. The trainers exclaimed in terror.

All of the Pocket Monsters they caught during their walkthrough wiped out! It growled in annoyance, glared at the scared trainers. "Oh no! Our Pocket Monsters are no match for it!" May cried.

"They're defenseless!" Tèa exclaimed.

"Get out of there!" Mokuba shouted warningly. But the friends were too scared to move. The mutant bear charged and whacked the Pokémon trainers with its powerful paws, sending them crashing into the ground, injuring them. The people outside the virtual dome gasped in concern. The trainers laid helplessly on the ground in rough shape, the large beast stood over them as it was about to take on them. Ash and Pikachu groaned as they tried to get up. "That's...some...Pocket...Monster..." He grunted.

"Pika..."

"Oh no!" Tèa exclaimed in horror.

"They're in trouble, Seto!" Mokuba said to his brother. "We got to do something!"

"But if I intervened with the game test, it might cause a corruption!" Kaiba said.

"But we can't leave them there!" Mokuba protested. "They need help!"

"Give me a minute to think!" Kaiba said sternly.

"There's no time!" Tèa protested.

Yugi watched Ash on the camera screen and saw him in grave danger. He could not bear to watch this anymore. He knew he had to take action and save the trainers. He scooted and rushed to the virtual dome.

Tèa saw him go. "Yugi, where are you going?" She asked.

"I can't sit here anymore! I have to do something right away!" Yugi answered. He made way to the scanner portal, entering the virtual world.

"Yugi, wait up!" Tèa shouted and went after him.

"Here we go again!" Joey tagged along and both the friends ran through the scanner portal. "We're coming with you, Yug!" He and Tèa disappeared into the vortex. Tristan was the last to go but intended on joining his friends on a rescue. Mokuba wasn't surprised by the the brave heroes' actions.

Pegasus's eye widened in unexpectedness. "Now, hold on-" He began to protest.

"Don't wait up!" Tristan said to the producers.

"Wait just a darn minute!" Pegasus called warningly for her. "You can't just-"

But Tristan had already gone to through the portal door and joined his friends. "They must be crazy!" Pegasus said. "This game isn't even tested for a larger group yet! They're sticking their necks out for strangers that don't even belong in their world!"

"I just hope they'll be alright!" Mokuba said. "I hope everyone makes it."

"They will be, Mokuba" Kaiba affirmed. "When it comes to Muto, 'miracles' attend to happen, which it's just luck and it happens to always come. So let the lucky streak guide them through this trial!"

The bear creature stomped over its down victims. Ash groaned as he sat up. He gritted his teeth as he is staring at a large sharp paw in front of his face. With him defenseless, It rose it up, getting ready for the kill. Ash's scared expression changed and looked at the large beast in confidence. "If you think you have got me on the ropes, you're wrong!" He said determinedly. "I have one last shot left!" He turned to his Pokémon. "Pikachu, use Thunder Wave!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu obeyed and launched a Thunder Wave at the bear giant, paralyzing it in its tracks.

"Yes!" Ash praised in triumph. "Now to catch it!" Before Ash could throw his "Poké Ball", another attack intervened. "Dark Magic Attack!" A powerful purple spell fired from somewhere and vaporized the giant beat, shattering it to pieces.

"Huh? Wha?" Ash gaped at it in surprise, pondering where dud the bear go.

"Pikachu?"

Brock lifted his upper body up and looked up to see what just happened. "Huh?" In front of him, a pair of blue jeans legs walked in and stood at the face of the Pewter City gym leader. It was Joey Wheeler who bended down to give him a hand. The other duelists, Tèa and Tristan came to May and Max's side.

At the same spot where that killer digital bear used to be, a short tricolored-haired teenager jumped in and approached the downed trainer and yellow Pokémon. It was Yugi who came to the rescue. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Ash asked the tricolored stranger.

"We saw you that you were in trouble," Yugi answered. "So we came here to give you guys a hand."

But Ash was not pleased. He did not ask to be rescued, and he certainly did not ask to be escorted from the virtual game that he was trying to pass. He got back up on his legs and glared disdainfully at the King of Games. "What's the matter?" Yugi asked.

"What did you that for?" Ash complained. "I was about to finish off that thing!"

"But you were on the ground!" Yugi protested. "You were almost bear food!"

"That was my plan!" Ash said. "I was doing just fine until you butt in!" Yugi gasped in miff.

"I was going to capture it do fight on our side so we can past this test easily. But now I can't!" He turned away. "Thanks a lot!" He turned his back.

Yugi scowled for he could not believe that boy in front of him was being ungrateful. "Hey, I was just trying to help!" He rebutted.

"I don't remember asking for any help!" Ash retorted. "And I certainly didn't ask you to interfere with our test!"

"Well, maybe if you paid more attention, you wouldn't have any trouble!" Yugi returned sharply.

"I'm much more experienced than you ever will be!" Ash retorted, glaring into the teen's face.

"What does that supposed to mean?" Yugi snapped, glaring back.

"My Pokémon are better than your so-called Duel Monsters!" Ash answered boastfully.

"Is that a challenge?" Yugi returned.

The two leaders' faces pushed closer toward each other, their noses touched. Ash's black eyes clashed Yugi's purple eyes. "Pikachu," the yellow mouse stood between the feuding leaders, looking worried.

"I know how we can settle this!" Ash thought up an idea. "Let's have a match!"

"Fine by me!" Yugi accepted. The Pokémon trainer took out his Poké Ball and the King of Games activated his duel disk and challenged each other to a grudge match.

"Hey, come on, Yug!" Joey persuaded his best friend. "Don't waste your energy on those rookies! Let them go."

"Hey we're not rookies! We got tons of experience! We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much." Brock addressed the blond guy after he and his friends got back on their feet. "Ash let's just forget about these showoffs and get back to the game," Brock said.

"Say what?!" Joey retorted. "Did you just called me a showoff?"

"With all your fancy oh-so-strong-holographic monster cards, I guess I am!" Brock retorted in a mocking tone.

The two second-in-commands stood in front of each other and casted feuding faces at each other. Brock's lined eyes against Joey's shiny brown eyes. "Why don't you say that to my face then?" Joey barked.

"I don't think so!" Brock retorted. "My pal can whip your pal anytime." His nose touched his nose.

"Ha! Yeah right!" Joey retorted, pushing his nose against his opponent's nose. "My bud's best duelist there is! Yours is just a chump!"

Brock pushed his nose further. "And what does that make you?"

"Ooohhh! That's it! Now you're gonna it!" Joey growled.

"Let's take it outside, blondie!"

"We are outside, dead eyes!"

The two second-in-commands growled at each other in conflict and took out their battle tools.

Tristan looked down on the smallest Pokémon trainer. "Hey, little kid. This place is not a playground for kids. You should go home and don't come until you're man enough to take on the big boys."

"I'm not little and I so can take on you!" Max was provoked by his underestimation. "If you have the guts."

"For a little guy, you talk big!" Tristan said. "I hate to have to teach you a lesson, shrimp. I'm really terrible at babysitting."

"Hey, who you calling shrimp!" Max snapped. "Don't underestimate someone who's twice your normal size!"

Tristan's face lowered down to met the boy's face and expressed a snoot. "Then why don't you go back to someone who really cares...Like your mama!"

Max scowled. "Grr! You better leave my momma out of this!" He snarled.

"Or else what? You gonna cry?" Tristan rebutted in a mocking bulling tone.

Max growled. "That's it!" He hopped onto the pointy haired teen's head and ruffled it.

"Get off me!" Tristan growled and tried to pry the snagging kid off.

The two girlfriends, Tèa and May were the last ones standing and distraught by the boys' quarrel. "Hey, you!" The younger brunette addressed the older one. "You should call off your boyfriends."

"None of them are my boyfriends!" Tèa returned. "But I will tell my best buds to cool it if you can tame your savaged friends!"

May resented that. "Hey, my friends aren't savages! I don't see you trying to control your dunderheaded friends!"

"Don't call my friends 'dunderheaded'!" Tèa barked. "You got weird taste in friends, like you got weird taste in fashion!"

A provoked vein appeared on May's forehead. "How dare you! You're just jealous because I'm more prettier than you, Grandma." She bragged and brushed her brown hair.

"Grandma?! You're asking for it!" Tèa snarled through her teeth.

"Bring it, sister!" May retorted.

The girls locked furious blue eyes on each other, creating an electrical spark between them. They both growled and hissed at each other and rose their backs high as they about to start a catfight (or to say a catduel!). May took out her Poké Ball and Tèa took out her duel disk and challenged each other to a duel.

Pegasus and Mokuba observed them from the video camera and looked concern. "Oh dear, this isn't going as planned." The white-haired man said.

"Seto, it looks like they're going to start a skirmish," the long shaggy haired boy informed his older brother. "Should we break them up?"

Kaiba did not answer. He eyed the feuding teams with interest. "Pokémon trainers against Monster Cards duelists? This I've got to see!" He smirked and gained front row seat on the surveillance chair and rested his elbows on the desk with his hands folded together in front of his face, paying full attention to the camera screen. "Oh boy." Mokuba muttered.

And so, the fuse between the Pokémon trainers, Ash, Brock, May, and Max and the Monster card duelists Yugi, Joey, Tèa, and Tristan has been lit. The two teams glared at each other as they are about to face off.


	9. Team Rocket's Break In

Elsewhere in a desert, miles away from Domino City, the newly hired Team Rocket duo, Billy and Kidd were on their way to their destination by motorcycle. Wearing helmets, the big man was driving while the little partner was riding in the sidecar with arms folded. They are on a mission They were cruising down the dirt road when they were encountered by company. From the dust cloud behind them, a gang of bikers sped by and drove next to the Team Rocket duo.

"Hey, look boss!" A motorcyclist with a conk said. "We got fellow bikers on the road!"

Billy and Kidd noticed company. "Aw! Is your daddy giving you a ride, little boy?" Another biker taunted. "How cute! HA HA HA!" Kidd wasn't offended by the remarks.

"Hey, tubbo!" Another gang biker sneered at Billy. "You shouldn't have taken off your training wheels! Lots of stuff can happen on the road!" The bikers laughed as they circled around the cowboy duo, trying to intimidate them.

"Duh, hey Kidd, they're trying to throw us off. How very rude!" Billy commented. "They're road-hogging varmints!"

"Then I'll have to give them our response." His pygmy parter volunteered, arm shuffling in the side car. "Our Team Rocket warm, friendly greeting, that is." He smirked and took out his Poké ball. "Poké Ball, go!" He threw it up in the air. In the ball of light, a purple bat-like creature fluttered in the air, screeching. "Crobat!"

"Crobat, show them a good time!" Kidd commanded.

"Cro-Bat!" The bat Pokémon fluttered the biker who exclaimed in alarm and tried to swat it away.

"Hey!"

"Cut it out!"

"STOP!"

The bikers lost balance and crashed into each other. Billy laughed rascally. "So you want to play rough, huh?" The leader growled and threw out his Poké ball. "Go, Poké ball!" The fellow bikers threw out their Poké balls as well.

"Hmph!" Kidd smirked. "Crobat, use Supersonic!"

Crobat obeyed and screeched out rings of piercing noise, reflecting the Poké balls back to their owners. The gang yelled and collided into every other fellow biker, ending their road hogging days.

Crobat returned to its owner and sat on his shoulder. Kidd chuckled. "That's how you deal with road rage!" He smirked, stroking his Pokémon in achievement. "And no one got hurt!" He watched the downed and rideless gang disappeared from his view as they drove further away on the road. True, none of the bikers were hurt but their pride may never recover.

"Nice job, Kidd! You really showed 'em a good time!" His large partner smirked. "Ha ha ha!"

Kidd returned his Pokémon back in its Poké ball. "It's good to let off steam for a little bit!" He said. "Because we are going to be working hard for the rest of this mission! We can't stop until we gain possession of the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the rest of those god cards!"

"Duh, you got that right, Kidd!" Billy agreed. "To Domino City!" He pushed the petal to medal, increasing the MPH speed. "YEE-HAW!" The motorcycle sped up and drove the rest of the way to Domino City.

* * *

Back at Domino City, from behind of KaibaCorp, Team Rocket was still fiddling with the lock of the back door, trying to break in. "Can't you hurry this up, James?" Jessie said impatiently. "It's a simple door knob, not the imperial gates!"

James grunted in effort and strenuously twisted the knob. "I think...I...got it!" He grunted. "Almost there!" He heard cracking of his bones. James stopped and held out his sore writhed fingers. "Ouch!" He squeaked. Pained tears seeped from his eyes.

"Ugh! You're such a wimp, James!" Jessie criticized. "You're supposed to be the man!"

"Hey guys!" Meowth called from the other direction. Jessie and James looked that way. Meowth was standing next to a vent opening on the wall which door was already pulled off and sitting next to the hole. "There was a detour that I already pried, you know." He said cunningly.

Jessie and James were shocked to see that their Poké partner had already find a easy way to break in. "If you knew that, Meowth, why didn't you say anything?" Jessie demanded.

"You could have spared my fingers!" James added.

"I just wanted to see you how far you could go," Meowth said. "Come on, we're wasting time!" He hopped into the vent hole.

Jessie and James steamed at their witted friend. "One of these days, I'm going to turn him into a fur coat!" The red-haired woman snarled. She and his partner went inside the vent hole to catch up with their friend.

Team Rocket crawled in the tunnels of the air duct and made their way inside the walls of KaibaCorp. They invisibly past over the security guards, though they could hear faint complaining and griping from the other vents.

"We're almost there, guys. I can see light," Meowth said in the lead.

"We better be." Jessie said. "I'm not a fan of dust and-" But then, Jessie crashed behind her partner who halted when the head leader also abruptly screeched to a stop. "Hey, what's the big idea?" She demanded irritably.

"Why'd you stop, Meowth?" James asked.

The cat Pokémon whimpered and froze with fear. There is something blockading the exit of the vent and he's afraid to go through it. "Eh...anybody want to go first?" He offered.

James looked over Meowth's shoulder to see what was keeping him. "What's the holdup?" He then spooked out when he saw what was keping them. At the exit, there is a large cobweb created by a large spider, hanging by a string.

"Say, Meowth, why don't you go right ahead? I insist!"

"Oh no! You go ahead!" Meowth ordered. "I insist!"

"No, you go!" James argued.

"Oh for Pete's sake, it's just a harmless spider!" Jessie said, losing her patience. "Out of the way!" She shoved ahead of her lackeys. She at first shuddered at the size of that spider in front of her face and feistily raked the large cobwebs away with her arms, clearing the detour. The spider hopped on her head. She got into beetle-on-its-back position and kicked the vent door with her high heels. "EW!" She quickly ruffled the remains of the cobwebs off her arms and shook the spider off her red long hair. One by one, the trio dropped down from the hole and landed on the floor. (Meowth bounced on James' head.) "We made it!" Jessie said.

"Oh! This the biggest place I've ever been!" James exclaimed almost loudly.

Meowth wrapped his tail around his noisy partner's mouth. "Quiet, you idiot! They'll hear you!" He hushed him. James muffled.

"Let's just grab what we came for and get out of here," Jessie said. The three of them tiptoed in the shadows of the equipment. James paused to look at something in front of his eyes. "What's that?" He asked.

"What's what, James?" Jessie asked impatiently. She and Meowth spotted something James was eying. The virtual dome flashed and hummed continuously. "What is that thing indeed?" Jessie asked.

"I bet it's loaded with Pokémon!" Meowth said hopefully. "Let's check it out!" He and his partners snuck to get a closer look.

Kaiba, Pegasus, and Mokuba were so busy watching the surveillance camera to the virtual dome, none of them noticed the intruders in the laboratory snooping around behind their presence.

Team Rocket stood at the virtual dome and examined it. "Now how do we get inside that thing?" Jessie asked.

Meowth opened up a panel board. "I think I know what to do," he said slyly. "We just got to alternate the wires." He examined the circuits carefully.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Meowth?" James asked.

"Of course," the scratch cat Pokémon said confidently. "All I have to do is do this and..." He pointed his claw at the circuits, aiming at the electric wire, poking at it, and...ZAP! Team Rocket screamed as the electric discharge caught them and digitally absorbed their particles right into the circuits.

In the green meadow, Team Rocket had been transported directly into the virtual world, wholly and in one piece. "What just happened?" James asked.

"I think we've been digitized." Meowth said. "I think we're in the digital world."

"The digital world?" James repeated. "But I came here for Pokémon, not to be part of a project."

"Maybe we'll find some digital Pokémon here then," Meowth said.

"I doubt we'll find any twerps in this computer dump, let alone Pokémon," Jessie said. "But I'm not going sit here and do nothing! I'm finding a way out of here!" She trodden ahead.

"Wait up, Jess!" Her partners followed behind her.

Back at the battleground, the Pokémon trainers and the Duel Monster duelists were still at their grudge match. "Torkal, use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

"Big Shield Gardna, block it!" Yugi shouted. Big Shield Gardna blocked Torkal's Flamethrower with its shield, creating a mass a of smog.

"Marshtomp, use Water Gun!" Brock commanded.

"Marsh-tomp!" The mud fish Pokémon fired out a water sprout from its mouth against Joey's monster.

"Flame Swordsman, cut it away!" The blond hair commanded his monster to cancel out his opponent's attack, creating more steam.

"Skitty, use Blizzard Attack!" May commanded her kitten Pokémon.

"Meow!" The little pink kitten blew out its icy-cold breath against its opponent.

"Happy Lover, block it out!" Tèa ordered her monster.

Her ball shaped critter with wingers blocked out the blizzard storm with its wall of hearts, creating blasts of sparkles and making it a tie.

When the smoke cleared up, both the determined Pokémon trainer and King of Games were still standing. Unfortunately for them, there was no winner to declared, for they had end up a tie. Both of the leaders panted very hard, worn out from the skirmish. "So, you give up?" Ash gasped.

"Not really." Yugi replied, catching his breath. "But you know, you put up a good match. I'll give you that."

"Yeah, you too." Ash admitted. "You are a worthy opponent."

"And you're a pretty good trainer," Yugi complimented.

"So you admit that Pokémon's better, right?" Ash started again.

"No I did not say that!" Yugi replied. "I see that you still fail to see that my Duel Monsters are more powerful than your Pokémon!"

"Nuh-uh! I'm the best!" Ash retorted.

"No, I am!" Yugi retaliated.

"Why don't you just admit that we are better than you?" Brock said.

"You guys must be delusional!" Joey retorted. "We are ten times more experienced than you ever will be!"

"You guys should just abort this game and go back to your own world!" Tristan said.

"No way!" May refused.

"We will not be moved by you losers!" Ash declared and put his foot down. "You don't push us around!"

"We will not either move either!" Yugi and his friends stood their ground. "Don't turn your backs on us!"

Once again, the opposing teams glared mulishly at each other. Suddenly, their stomachs began rumbling. Their health points were low for the party haven't eaten all day and they are hungry. "Hungry..." Ash moaned and held his stomach.

"I feel empty!" Joey groaned and held his stomach.

"Haven't eaten since this morning," Tèa uttered.

"Gotta find food first!" Yugi moaned.

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon pointed over there. At its direction, there is a row of fruit trees, loaded with ripe apples.

"Alright! Food!" The party exclaimed excitedly in unison. Drool oozed from their mouths.

The opposing teams scrambled over to the apple trees, taking a shocked Pikachu in the stampede. When they arrived at the boughs, they pushed each other under leaves and fruits, shooting to get the first apple first before who. They mistakenly stepped on all over Pikachu. "Pikachu!" It squealed in distress.

"Move out of the way!" They quarreled.

"I want the apples!"

"Let us go first!"

"Stop it!"

"Quit hogging it!"

Getting trampled, Pikachu's red cheeks emitted lighting sparks in warning. The party was too busy fighting and shoving, none of them noticed the squished electric Pokémon under their feet.

"PIKACHU!" The lighting mouse couldn't hold it any longer. It unleashed a powerful blast of Thundershock, shocking the entire party. Ash, Yugi, Brock, Tèa, May, Joey, Max, and Tristan agonizingly screamed as they got caught in the yellow high voltage mass. The electricity surged through their bodies, exposing their x-rays.

"CUT IT OUT, PIKACHU!" Ash yelled.

"YYYEEEOOOAAAHHH!" Yugi and the others howled deafeningly as the electricity surged through their bodies.

Pikachu's electrical attack eventually died down and ceased once when it was calm down now. Around it, the stun and paralyzed humans moaned and shook like leaves as the Thundershock did a number on their nerves. "Thanks...P-P-Pikachu..." Ash moaned.

"N-no...p-p-pickles...p-p-please..." Yugi uttered out of daze.

"Mommy, I don't wanna go to school..." Tristan moaned out of delusion. "I wanna stay home and bake cookies!"

At the same time, the people fainted and crashed to the ground, all passed out cold. Pikachu, the last one standing, hopped onto the unconscious bodies and chirped apologetically as it scratched its pointed ears. It then turned its head around as if it sensed something. It spotted Yugi's Millennium Puzzle laying on top of his chest. Pikachu hopped onto the boy's chest and examined up the golden pyramid pendant up close. It cautiously lowered its head and sniffed at the hardened surface. "Pika?"

It picked up the Millenium Puzzle and stared at it in curiosity. "Pikachu?" It uttered to itself. It sniffed at it again. It then noticed the strange eye carving. "Chu?" Pikachu blinked at this. Suddenly, there was a flash of light firing from the pupil. "Pika!" It exclaimed. Its black eyes received glow from the mysterious puzzle.

Pikachu opened its eyes and blinked. "Pika!" It looked around and found itself transported into another location. "Pika?" It wondered where in the world is it located. It saw that dozens of buildings were wrecked and shattered. The entire city looked like as if an apocalyptic disaster struck and washed over it. The sky was dark, the streets were bare, lots of cars and other objects such as barricades and street signs were piled up, bended and twisted, and destroyed like something monstrous knocked them over or picked up or thrown. "Pikachu?" Pikachu pondered what had happened here. The screaming and panicking people were running away from the ruined city. "Pikachu!" The mouse Pokémon ran into the heart of the city to see what was happening. It arrived at the main intersection. To its shock, it saw that a dozen of people were lying on the streets, knocked out. Pikachu was struck with fear when it saw familiar unconscious faces, including Joey, Max, and Ash and Yugi! Apparently they were no match to whatever it just attacked them. "PIKACHU!" The mouse Pokémon screamed in horror. It felt like it just walked into a nightmare. But it's reality. It then looked up in the heights of the city and squealed in terror. At the top of the skyscraper, there was an incredibly humongous three-headed dog-like monster perched on the roof, growling loudly. Drops of saliva seeped from its lower jaw, dripping from its muzzle. In its large right beastly hand, it was carrying an unconscious man wearing a suit. It looked like Giovanni from Team Rocket! He too have fallen victim to the unspeakably powerful and unholy demon guard of the Shadow Realm. Cerberus rose up all three of its heads and bellowed deafeningly into the skies, rocking the world. Just when it marked the end of days there was another flash of light.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu opened its eyes. It was back to reality, back to the present, back to sitting on the bodies of the unconscious people. He blinked its black eyes and stared at the Millennium Puzzle. "Pikachu?" It wondered what was that all about. The puzzle had show it the possoble future. Pikachu had seen it. It had experienced with the Millennium magic. It saw Cerberus destroying the whole world. If something were to happen to the Ball of the Underworld, the premonition have come true.

Pikachu felt something living inside that puzzle and realized that it is friendly. "Pika!" Excited, it carried the Millennium Puzzle in its paws and walked off from the unconscious party, pulling away the linking chain from Yugi's neck. On a stroll, Pikachu tossed the pyramid in mid-air, up and down like it was a ball. "Pika!" It ejaculated. It had never seen such a mystic and exotic item before, especially when it contained the soul of the pharaoh. It played around with it like it was toy, wishing that the noble spirit would just come out for a second.

Nearby, Team Rocket continued wandering around in the virtual forest, looking at nothing but trees. "Boy, for a video game, it sure is big and spacious," James said. "It feels so real."

"Don't be ridiculous, James." Jessie said. "It's a virtual world, there's nothing real about that." But she stood corrected when she stubbed her toe on a medium size rock in their path. "Ouch!" She grumbled and held her stubbed foot. "Hey, that hurt!"

"That's keeping it real," James said.

"Ssh! Quiet!" Meowth hushed. "I hear something." He perked his black ears up.

"What is it, Meowth?" Jessie asked.

"Is a animal?" James asked.

"I'm not sure," Meowth answered. "It's coming from this direction." He pointed to the bushes. Team Rocket went over to take a look.

They spotted Pikachu in the grove of the woods, playing with the Millennium Puzzle. "Could it be?" James gasped in surprise.

"It's Pikachu!" Meowth announced.

"Probably just a hologram," Jessie said negatively.

"Looks real to me." Meowth said. "It's too good to be true! The gods are smiling on us!"

"Yes, but what is that thing it's carrying?" James asked, noticing the Millennium Puzzle.

"Looks like some kind of weird pyramid shaped necklace," Jessie observed. "Doesn't look fashionable though."

"I don't know, but who cares?" Meowth said cockily. "We finally got Pikachu in our grasp! We'll ship him and that gold pyramid chain straight to the Boss!"

His human partners looked at him weirdly. "This may be a dumb question, but why would the boss want some peculiar odd-looking pyramid chain thingie?" James asked.

"Yeah, why?" Jessie added.

"Well..." Meowth thought hard. "Supposing the pyramid Pikachu was holding was worth a lot of money." He began to fantasize about the Boss' money crisis.

"_Imagine the Boss looking into the safe and finds all his gold bricks gone, his cash in the box has disappeared, and even his piggy bank is as empty as an cracked eggshell. All the money of Team Rocket-gone! Zip! Ka-Blooey! The Boss cries in despair. Just when hope seems lost, he remembers the golden pyramid chain that we sent him. He goes to the pawnshop, the pawnbroker's say it's worth millions of dollars, Boss sells it, and BAM! The Team Rocket budget goes sky high! Now the Boss, satisfied and overjoyed will be up to his ears in fresh green dough and gold coins once and again, and do you know what his reaction is: 'Meowth and his friends saved Team Rocket from finacial trouble by bringing me this super valuable pyramid and turning it into a gold mine! I shall reward them by sharing my riches. I wish everyone could be more like them!'_"

When the fantasy ended, Team Rocket exulted with excitement. "YAHOO!"

"What a great idea!" Jessie beamed.

"We'll be filthy stinking rich!" James jumped up and down.

"You can't get away from us this time, Pikachu!" Meowth grinned maliciously. They cackled together as they hatched up a new scheme.

"Wobbuffet!"


	10. Pharaoh Schools Team Rocket

Back in the apple tree groves, Ash, Yugi, and the rest of others finally regained consciousness and woke up. Groaning, they gathered up their strength and sat up. "Uhn...that was a shocker," Yugi muttered, rubbing his head.

"My hair's all fizzled up," Tèa said.

"My clothes feel like static," May said.

"I feel like I touched a lightning bolt." Max said.

"I'm seeing stars," Brock muttered.

"My head's spinning like a top!" Joey said.

"Your head always spins, dude!" Tristan pointed it out.

Still a tad dizzy, Joey glared at his friend. "You're lucky, Tristan. See, I would have slap you upside the head right now, but there's three of you and I don't know which one's the real you!"

"Unh...Sorry about Pikachu!" Ash apologized, rubbing his arm.

"That's alright." Yugi said. "I guess we needed a timeout or something and we asked for it." His head drooped down and sighed. He then noticed that his Millennium Puzzle is missing. He gasped and patted on his chest where his pendant used to be. "Oh no! Where's my Millennium Puzzle?" He immediately searched his shirt and jacket.

"Your what?" Ash asked.

"My Millennium Puzzle's missing!" Yugi stood up in panic and looked around him frantically. "It was around my neck a minute ago and now it's gone!"

"Calm down, Yugi!" Tèa consoled him. "It couldn't have gone very far. I'm sure it's around here somewhere."

"Maybe you dropped it somewhere, Yug," Joey guessed.

Yugi grabbed his best friend's black shirt and pulled him down, glaring directly in the face. "Weren't you listening?" He snapped. "I had it on my neck when we fainted and now it disappeared!"

"Take it easy, Yugi." Tristan said. "It couldn't have gotten up and walked on its own."

"Hey, come to think of it, Pikachu is gone too," Ash said. "Where could he gone to?"

"Let's go find him then," Max said.

"We search for Pikachu and your, um Minimum Puzzle," Brock said.

"Millennium Puzzle," Yugi corrected.

"Right, whatever. Let's split up and search." Brock said as he and the rest of the group in search of Pikachu and the Millennium Puzzle.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out. "Pikachu!"

"Ollie ollie oxen free!" Joey shouted.

"Pharaoh!" Yugi hollered. "Hey, Pharaoh! If you can hear me, read my thoughts!"

"Gee, finding a yellow mouse Pokémon with a lightning tail in a virtual forest will be as easy as finding a ladybug in a flower field!" Tristan said.

Max examined his surroundings and then caught sight of something. "Hey, look over there!" He pointed over there. The party looked this way. There, they found Pikachu on top of a large boulder, holding the pyramid puzzle. There are a couple of small rock chunks surrounding around it.

"Hey, there's Pikachu!" May said.

"And that's my Millennium Puzzle!" Yugi said.

He and the rest of the gang raced toward the boulder. "Pikachu!" Ash called to his furry comrade.

"Pi?" Pikachu didn't answer. He was still absorbed in this mysterious pyramid shaped artifact. He was connecting to the pharaoh's spirit inside. He let it drop onto the hard surface. The gang gasped.

"Pika," The yellow mouse Pokémon repeatedly whacked the tip of the Millennium Puzzle against one of the rocks, trying to crack it open like it was a coconut. It must be trying to get the spirit of the pharaoh out of the pyramid.

"HEY! STOP!" Yugi shouted in alarm. He sped up and scrambled up the boulder. "DON'T DO THAT!"

"Wait!" Ash shouted.

"Give that back!" Yugi grabbed the chain of his precious pendant and yanked out of Pokémon's paws. Pikachu nearly slipped when the spiky haired teen pulled it along with his precious Millennium Puzzle and tried to maintain balance. Ash caught him in time.

"Hey, watch it!" He rebuked.

In provoked rage, Pikachu once again thundershocked both his trainer and the duelist. "NOT AGAIN!" Ash and Yugi screamed together. On ground, the friends of different groups watched their leaders get shocked in the boulder.

"Oh dear," May said.

"That's one way of controlling anger issues," Tèa said.

"Mmm-hmm." Some of the boys agreed.

Yugi examined his Millennium Puzzle to make sure it's still in one piece. "You are so lucky it didn't get a scratch on it!" He said, rubbing the gold outing.

"What's the big deal? It's just a silly pyramid," Ash said.

"It's not just a silly pyramid for your information," Yugi retorted. "It's got value to me."

"What kind of value?" Ash asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but let's just say I'm bonded with that puzzle," Yugi answered, putting back his Millennium Puzzle. "But you wouldn't know that if it hit you on the head!"

"Hey, you take that back!" Ash retorted. "I so know what bonding is! I bond with Pikachu. All you bond is with an inanimate object!"

"Think again, cap head!" Yugi glared back at the black haired boy.

"You wanna make something out of it?" Ash challenged, putting up his dukes.

"Bring it on!" The tricolored teen rebutted.

The two blindly slapped each other, restarting their quarrel. "Here they go again!" Max said.

Brock climbed up the boulder and stepped in between the bickering boys. "Okay, you too!" He said firmly. "Knock it off already!" He pulled them apart. Ash and Yugi are physically smaller than Brock.

"He started it!" Ash griped.

"Did not!" Yugi bickered.

"Did too!" Ash rebutted. He jumped off the boulder. "Come on, Pikachu!" His furry comrade followed.

"Where are you going, Ash?" Brock and friends tagged along.

"Hey, Pegasus! We want out of here now!" Ash shouted out to the sky. "I can't work these guys getting in the way! Sorry to disappoint you but I don't think this is our worth while anymore!"

"Pikachu!"

"Yeah, I kind of agree with Ash here," Max said.

A rectangle video display of Duel Monster creator appeared over the trees. "Children, children!" He said. "I understand your discontent. But give it some time, soon you'll have the time of your lives. Besides, it won't be easy just to pull you out of the virtual dome. The only way to escape this world is to complete the game."

The party gasped and gawked in surprise. "You mean we're stuck here?" They asked in unison. "No way!"

"If you put it that way, yes," Pegasus answered genuinely. "You might as well make the best of it."

Everyone groaned in disfavor.

Ash drew a line in the dirt with a stick, separating the Pokémon gang and the dueling team. "There! You stay on this side and we stay on our side!" He compromised.

"Fine by me!" Yugi agreed. "As long as you stay on your side!"

"Good, we agreed on something!" Ash said.

"Hmph!" The two leaders stood with their backs towards each other with arms folded for they are not seeing eye-to-eye. (Although they are different ages, they are exactly about the same height.)

"You know Ash, maybe you could try to be a little more diplomatic," Brock said. "After all, they did help us back there. If we're going to have to go through this thing together, we're going to have to try to get along."

"Line-eyes is right, Yug," Joey put in. "The best thing to do is bury the hatchet and try to work together."

"Hmph!" Ash disagreed.

"Yeah right!" Yugi scoffed. Their backs are still facing each other.

"Like I will ever in a millions years work with him!" They both stated at the same time.

"Loser!" Yugi name-called.

"Lame-o!" Ash retorted.

"Brat!"

"Geek!"

"Short!"

"Shrimp!"

For Yugi, that was the last straw. A provoked vein throbbed on his forehead. He hates it when people make fun of his height. "Okay, that does it!" He hissed. "Nobody calls me 'shrimp'!" He turned around and tackled the black-haired boy. He placed a grappling lock around Ash who counterattacked by biting his opponent on the arm and pushed him down on his back, pinning him down. The two leaders grunted as they wrestled each other on the grass.

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon watched in disharmony as the two humans fight in front of it.

Joey, Tristan, and Max surrounded them and watched their leaders brawl to the bitter end. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" They chanted.

The two boys wrestled each other on the dirt. They grunted and growled as they pulled each others' hair, bite, counterattacked, and pushed each other on the ground at each roll. Brock groaned in disapproval for this time he would not be able to break them up.

The two girls sighed in dismay. _I need some female friends!_ They thought at the same time.

Pegasus facepalmed from the sight of that brawl on the video. "Can't we all get along?"

"Shouldn't we try and break them up, Seto?" Mokuba asked.

Kaiba snickered as he was enjoying this skit. "Are you kidding? This is more amusing than crushing my opponents!" He snickered.

"Oh, Seto!" Mokuba shook his head.

Ash and Yugi continued to grapple hold on each other that they started tumbling down on a grassy hill. They stood up and glared at each other again once they were on the smooth grass. "Okay you two! That's enough!" Brock shouted in command. He and the rest of the others slid down the hill.

When the two teams came together again, the ground beneath them suddenly disappeared. "Huh?" The party looked down and screamed as they plunged down into the large deep pit and crashed to the bottom. They laid in the dirt, groaning and muttering.

"Ouch!" Brock groaned.

"Argh!" Yugi and Ash groaned.

"That one hurt!" Max muttered.

"Didn't see that coming!" Joey grunted.

"What just happened?" Tristan asked.

"Somebody dug a hole here, that's what happened!" May answered his rhetorical question.

"Not funny, dude!" Tèa groused. "Somebody could get real hurt, even though it's only a game!"

"Where that hole come from?" Yugi spoke up as he sat up and rubbed his bottom.

"Pikachu."

"I think I have a theory who dug it," Ash automatically figured it out. And he was right.

A trio of familiar laughs occurred from above the pit. "Huh?" Everybody looked up. A pair of shadows towered from the edge of the ditch.

"Prepare for trouble!" A female figure with angled long hair said.

"Make it double!" Added a male voice with semi long hair.

"I hate it when I'm right." Ash said in distaste.

"Pikachu."

"What?" Yugi and his friends looked at the three strangers in curiosity.

"As evil as old as the galaxy..." Jessie started.

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny..." Added James.

"That's me!" Meowth jumped in.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..." Jessie continued.

"To extend our reach to the stars above..." James added.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Meowth too!"

"Whenever there's peace in the universe..." Jessie wrapped this up.

"Team Rocket..." James added.

"Will be there..." Meowth added.

"To make everything worse!" The trio chorused their final line.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime, Mime!"

"Ugh, Team Rocket again!" May said in disgust.

"Don't these guys ever give up?" Max added.

"What are you guys doing here?" Brock asked.

"Oh, we just happened to be in the neighborhood," James answered, brushing his blue hair.

"We just keep bumping into each other, don't we twerps?" Jessie snickered.

Pegasus, Mokuba, and Kaiba were awed to three more intruders in the virtual world. "Who are these three guys?" Mokuba asked.

"I don't remember programming these fellows in the game," Pegasus said. "Something is screwing up the system! This is getting out of hand!"

"There's nothing wrong with the computer system," Kaiba assured firmly. "From the looks of those three idiots, they don't look so tough. I have a feeling that Yugi and the Pokémon trainer will have no problem dealing with them." He eyed on the screen carefully.

"Let's hope so," Mokuba said.

"Enough with the pleasantries, hand over your Pokémon right now!" Jessie ordered.

"Not a chance!" Ash refused.

"Pikachu!"

Yugi stood up and addressed the trio politely. "Uh, pardon me, but just exactly who are you guys?"

"What?!" Team Rocket felll down sheepishly, shocked that the King of Games has never heard of them.

"Haven't you been listening to our motto?!" Jessie growled. "We are Team Rocket sent here to fulfill our destiny!"

"That's my line!" James said.

"We are an evil organization whose job is to steal the rarest and most valuable Pokémon!" Meowth described.

The duelists looked confused for they are completely unaware of the name Team Rocket or the organization. "Eh...have any of you guys ever heard of Team Rocket?" Joey asked.

"Nuh-uh." Tristan answered. "Have you heard of them, Tèa?"

"Nope." The female brunette shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

Team Rocket groaned in disappointment and fell down. "Fine, then we'll educate you twerps!" Jessie snarled, holding a whip. "Here's what happens when you cross Team Rocket!" She cracked her whip and lashed it down the pit at the kids. At the end of tip of the leather formed a bubble-like ball and snagged Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder, capturing in a medium sized orb.

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon squealed in alarm.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried in concern. Yugi gasped in worry.

Jessie pulled the whip up back in her, reeling in her prize. "Gotcha! Now that's what I called 'reeling it in'!" She grinned. In the bubble, Pikachu tried to shock its way out, but no avail.

"Shock all you want, Pikachu!" Meowth grinned deviously. "This bubble is Pika-proof! Ha ha ha!"

"Give me back my Pikachu!" Ash demanded.

"You can't do that!" Yugi shouted to the lame-brained trio. "That's stealing!"

"Stealing is what we do best!" James said, smirking. He got out his vacuum cleaner. "And now it's time to take the rest of your Pokémon!" He flipped the switch on and starting sucking up the Poké balls from the trainers' belts and bags.

"NO!" Brock yelled as his Poké balls slipped away

"My Pokémon!" May cried.

"STOP!" Max shouted.

"Oh no!" Tèa covered her mouth in horror as she, Joey, and Tristan gaped at the awfulness.

James switched off the switch when he had swipe all of the trainers' Poké balls. "Now they belong to Team Rocket!" He sneered, holding the vacuum bag. "HA HA HA!" He and his friends cackled in triumph

Yugi and his friends learned the true intention and nature of Team Rocket. "That's not cool, man!" Joey glared at the thieving trio.

"Give our Pokémon back right now!" Max wailed.

"You heard him! Give them back their Pokémon or else!" Tristan barked.

"What you're doing is wrong!" Tèa shouted.

"Don't you know that stealing's against the law?" Joey added.

"We're outside the law, blondie!" James retorted. "We take whatever we like!"

"You give us your Pokémon as well!" Jessie commanded.

"We don't have any!" Tèa said. "But if we do, we'd never give them to you!"

"Wrong answer!" Jessie snapped her fingers, commanding Meowth to jump in the pit to snag the duelists' "Pokémon".

He scrutinized through their jackets and belts for Poké balls, but found only Tèa's brush, a tin of mints from Joey, and a bikini magazine from Tristan which he claimed that he didn't know how that get here. "Huh?" Meowth held Yugi's monster cards in his paw in disappointment. "No Pokémon? These guys got nothing! Nothing except weird and nerdy old playing cards!"

"Hey, it's because we're duelists, not trainers!" Joey said.

"Duelists?" Team Rocket repeated.

"These guys are boring, Meowth!" Jessie said. "Just grab that pyramid thing so we can get out of here!"

Meowth snagged onto the chain of the Millennium Puzzle. "Hey, what are you doing?" Yugi yelled in alarm.

"Your pretty little necklace is coming with us, kid." Meowth said coolly. "It will certainly bring us lots of dough. Now fork it over!"

He tried to snatched the chain necklace from the boy's neck who resisted.

"No! It's mine!" Yugi tried to keep the chain from Meowth's grasp. "My grandpa gave it to me and it took me forever to complete the puzzle!"

"Give it!" Meowth snarled. The gang watched the tricolored and the cat Pokémon fight over the Millennium Puzzle.

"Ash, do something!" May urged.

"But what can I do?" Ash said. But at that moment, he won't have to, because something amazing was about to happen.

The eye symbol on Yugi's mystic Millennium Puzzle glowed warmly. "Huh?" Meowth paused and gawked at it.

"I didn't want to have to do this..." The teen boy's face grew serious. The same fulgent eye symbol glowed on his forehead. "But you've just messed with the wrong guy!"

"Eh?" Meowth began to feel a little afraid. James and Jessie eyed on him strangely. Ash and the Poké gang watched in suspense, wondering what is happening to the shrimpy tricolored-haired duelist next to them. Joey, Tèa, and Tristan just stood there feeling calm and pleased, for help has arrived.

The Millennium Puzzle activated and flashed luminous yellow, kicking the startled Meowth off. The transformation had begun. "YU-GI-OH!" Yugi hollered. His voice changed from mid high-pitch to deeper tone. Then everything turned blinding white. Team Rocket screamed in alarm as they were caught off guard.

"Pika!" Pikachu blinked at the light.

Ash and friends shielded their eyes from the light. Then a tower of radiance cannoned out from the pit, lifting everyone up and placing them back on the upper grass. The light faded, everyone opened their eyes to see what just happened. The transformation has completed. Yugi grew taller and older, his hair also changed added blond lightning streaks across his star-shaped black and magenta hair, and his large round purple eyes became sharp and angled, making him look bold and fierce. Yami Yugi had come to the rescue! Ash, May, Brock, and Max were astonished and speechless at what they saw, while Joey, Tristan, and Tea cheered casually for their friend. Team Rocket opened their eyes.

"What was that light?" James asked.

"How did you all get out the hole?" Meowth asked.

"Who cares about them?" Jessie snapped. "Let's just scram while we still can!"

"Pika!" The Pokémon hostage cried in the bubble.

The trio were about to run when they were stopped by a deep strong voice. "Not so fast!"

"Huh?" Team Rocket turned around. They saw the changed teenager opposing them and gazing sternly in their direction.

"Who on Earth is he?" Jessie asked curiously.

"Wasn't he short before?" Meowth asked.

"He does look different from before," Jessie said. "He's certainly has changed somehow."

"Maybe he evolved or something," Meowth said stupidly.

"You hand over that young man's Pikachu and the Pokémon you stole right now," Yami Yugi ordered.

"And what if we don't feel like it?" James retorted.

"Then I'll have no choice but to take matters into my own hands," Yami Yugi answered seriously.

Team Rocket looked at the pharaoh like he's crazy. They then looked at each other and burst out laughing. "HA HA HA HA!"

Joey growled. "What are they laughing at?"

"Spiky haired twerp thinks he can boss us around," Jessie chortled. "What a laugh!"

"Nyah nyah!" James and Meowth pulled down their lower eyelids and stuck out their tongues. "You can't beat us!" They then spun around and smacked their bottoms at the pharaoh. Yami Yugi gave them a fierce glare that caused James and Meowth to cut their ridicule short and sent shivers down their spines.

"Yikes, he looks serious!" The blue-haired boy whimpered.

"I think he means it!" Meowth added.

"Knock it off, you idiots!" Jessie snapped at her teammates. "Do not let some daft clown with a ridiculous hair-don't threaten you just because he grew an inch taller!"

"Sticks and stones, Team Rocket. But you're going down and I'm going to return these kids' Pokémon you stole." Yami vowed confidently.

"Is that so?" Jessie rebutted in a mocking tone. "I'd like to see you try!" She pulled her lower eyelid and stuck out her tongue.

"Wait, whoever-you-are," Ash stepped in to assist the pharaoh. "Let me help you."

Yami Yugi blocked him with his arm. "You leave these guys to me," he said. "I'll take care of them." He brought out his duel disk and activated it.

Ash was surprised to hear him say that. "But, my Pikachu..." He started to protest.

Joey put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "You heard him," he said assuringly. "Don't worry, he'll take care of these guys. He'll bring back your Pokémon in no time." He winked and gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah!" Tèa and Tristan added. Ash looked at them and the pharaoh in wonder and hope. Brock, May, and Max paid close attention to the battle.

The pharaoh stood in front of Team Rocket, ready to duel. Jessie glared at him in determination. "Alright pretty boy, I don't know who you are, or how you'd change, but we're going to teach you a good lesson!" She enlarged her Poke'ball in her hand. "Go, Seviper!" She threw it and out came a darkly colored snake Pokémon with golden spots and a sharp "rattle" at the tip of its tail.

"Se-Viper!"

"Cacnea, go!" James unleashed his cactus-like Pokémon who squealed and snuggled his trainers with its prickly arms.

"Yeouch! No, not me!" He yelped. "Wrong opponent!"

"Fine then," Yami smirked and inserted his monster card in the slot. "I chose my Big Shield Gadna in defense mode!" A large elf with long black hair crouched behind his large shield, ready to absorb the blow.

"Cacnea, use Pin Missile!" James commanded.

Cacnea obeyed and launched its black needles at its opponent. "Block it and take it down!" Yami Yugi commanded.

His monster grunted in obedience and charged at its opponent, deflecting the needles on its shield. Cacnea and James exclaimed in shock. Big Shield Gadna rammed against the cactus Pokémon, bouncing it back to its owner keeled over on the ground. James squealed in pain as his Pokémon felt like a pincushion on his body. The trainers and duelists were amazed by this. Yami chuckled confidently and brush his blond locks. "You better wipe off that smirk of your face!" Jessie growled. "We're just getting started! Seviper, use Poison Tail!"

"Se-Viper!" The snake Pokémon charged at the pharaoh who had a counter attack.

"Not so fast!" Yami declared. "I activate my Rude Kaiser in attack mode!" He summoned a reptile-like warrior with blades and it struck back Seviper. It hissed in agony as it got entangled in its own coils.

Jessie screamed in terror. "My Seviper!"

"Whoa!" Max said in awe.

"Teach 'em a lesson, Pharaoh!" Tristan cheered.

Meowth stepped in and growled ferociously. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him!" He brought out his sharp pointy claws. "FURY SWIPES!" He pounced on the pharaoh, getting ready to scratch his face.

"Lookout!" Tèa hollered.

"I activate Divine Wind!" Yami revealed his trap card.

A face down card opened up and a spiral twister rose up and bulwarked around the pharaoh. Meowth was unable to penetrate the flowing vortex and he screamed as he was sent flying and crashing into his friends. His claws ripped James' vacuum bag and the Poké balls slipped from the holes. "The Poké balls!" The blue-haired teen cried.

The wind from the Divine Wind picked up the red and white orbs and flew them to their original owners. The trainers were amazed at what they just witnessed. "Ah!" Brock exclaimed.

"Holy Miltank! That was incredible!"

"I think I'm in love!" May said admiringly.

"Now Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" Yami Yugi commanded.

His Dark Magician who was summoned into the field fired his dark spell at Team Rocket who screamed in the blast and let Pikachu in the bubble launch up high in the air. "Pika!"

"Pikachu!" Ash cried in concern.

Yami caught the ball containing yellow Pokemon in his arms, opened the small door, and released it from its prison. "Pika!" It thanked its mysterious savior. The party were awed.

"Hey, that's our Pikachu!" Jessie ejaculated.

"Wrong, this Pikachu was never yours in the first place," Yami corrected. "Taking Pokémon that don't belong to you is entire wrong and complete shame. Pokémon should be treated with care and respect, not for the wrong reasons. They're living things that deserved to be treated with love and honor." He stroked the comforted Pikachu in its ears. "From the looks of it, you three are disgrace to the game and are far from ever becoming good trainers!" He glared at them with wise purple eyes. The gang oohed.

Team Rocket was struck with the knives of displeasure and indignity thrown by the vengeful pharaoh. They have never been so insulted, and their boss usually castigates them. "What did he say?!" Jessie shrieked.

"A disgrace to Pokémon?! ME?!" Meowth flared.

"That's hitting below the Poké belt!" James blurted out furiously.

"Wobbuffet!" The patient Poke'mon doesn't seem affected by the pharaoh's remarks.

"I'll give you one last chance to surrender peacefully," Yami negotiated calmy. "We can resolve this without making things difficult."

Team Rocket was infuriated. "How dare you, you-you-big-haired twerp!" Jessie screamed, face fuming red. "Nobody calls us a disgrace and walks away with it! EVERYONE ATTACK!" She, her Pokémon, and her partners charged furiously at the pharaoh holding Pikachu. The party gasped in worry.

"Watch out!" Max cried.

Yami shook his head of disappointment. "What a shame." He said softly. The eye symbol glowed on his forehead again. "MIND CRASH!" With the power of his hand and dark magic of the Millennium Puzzle, the mighty King of Games mentally thrashed the criminal pack, "crushing their minds", and sent them flying into the virtual sky.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH! NO FAIR! TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" The trio screamed as they disappeared into the blueness.

"Wobbuffet!"

Joey, Tèa, and Tristan all cheered for the heroic King of Games for he had just schooled the ridiculous band of thieves and taught them a good lesson with the power of the heart of the cards. "Way to go, Yugster!" Tristan exalted.

"You did it, Pharaoh!" Tèa said admiringly

"That's my boy!" Joey said, raising his fists proudly. "I knew those lunkheads were no match for my pal, Yug! He's da man!"

The trainers were both speechless and awed by the mysterious ally who used to be that short mild-mannered young man who first met them and changed into a wholly different person. Yami Yugi chuckled in victory as he kept Pikachu safe in his arms. He then turned around and faced the Pokémon trainers who felt a bit of uneasiness inside them for they do not know who he is or if he's on their side. He walked toward the young black haired trainer and looked down at him sternly. Ash looked back at the pharaoh cautiously, hoping he's the good guy and doesn't try and take off with Pikachu too. But instead, Yami just smiled and handed over Pikachu. "Here you are, kid. I believe this belongs to you," he said kindly. Pikachu jumped out of his hands and leaped into its friend's welcoming arms.

"Ha ha! Pikachu!" Ash beamed joyfully and hugged his little comrade tightly. "I thought they had taken you away for good!"

"Pika!" The electric mouse Pokémon squealed happily.

Yami Yugi smiled as he walked away from the reunited duo. He and his pals walked into the thick of the woods. "Let's get moving, guys," he said. "We must complete this walkthrough."

"Hey, wait! Hold up!" Ash and the others chased after them through the trees.

Pegasus, Mokuba, and Kaiba were impressed by that event. This day was getting more interesting by the minute for them. "Great goodness! That was certainly intriguing!" Pegasus said.

"Looks like those thieves got what they deserve, huh Seto?" Mokuba said to his brother.

"Hmph!" That was Kaiba's only answer. Team Rocket may have been defeated for now, but things were only just beginning.


	11. Starting Over And Learning Duel Monsters

Back in the virtual field, the Pokémon gang and the duelist squad once again encountered each other during the walkthroughs, but this time, things will become different. The spark between them may have died out. The two leaders, Ash and Yugi (who was changed back) retreated from their friends and approached each other. They felt a little awkward and uncomfortable at each other's presence, after all they did get off on the wrong foot. "Uh, hi," Ash managed to blurt out.

"Hey," Yugi returned the response. The two young leaders stood facing each other for a moment as they searched for the words. "Uh...you go first," Ash offered, rubbing his head.

"Nah, you go first," Yugi insisted.

"Look, um..we, uh, got off to a rough start earlier, and um, I just want to say, you know..." Ash started to apologize.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Yugi put in, scratching his purple black hair. "I've acted like a total jerk."

"Nah, I'm the jerk!" Ash admitted. "I've shouldn't have acted so conceited back there when you saved me from that bear thing."

"No, I'm the one who intervened," Yugi owned up. "It was your 'Pocket Monster' game, it should be you who passes it without us getting in the way. We should have let you capture that bear when you had the chance."

"Look, since we're both in this video game together..." Ash put in.

"Why don't we..." Yugi added.

"Start over?" The leaders finished in unison. The friends of both teams watched them in anticipation, awaiting for something to happen.

At the same time, they cleared their throats as they prepared for a proper introduction. "Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," the black-haired boy presented himself first, taking out his hand.

"Hello, my name is Yugi Muto from Domino City," the black violet/blond haired teenager said pleasantly, accepting the young boy's handshake.

"It's very nice to meet you!" They said in unison as they shook hands together.

The other sidekicks went over and got acquainted with one another. "My name is Brock and I come from the Pewter City gym." The spiky haired, line-eyed boy presented himself.

"What's up? Joey Wheeler's the name, dueling's my game!" The blond-haired teenager stylishly introduced himself. The two of them grinned as they shook hands. "Hey!"

"My name is May, and that's a really nice outfit you're wearing," the young girl complemented.

"I'm Tèa Gardener, and thank you." The tall brunette smiled warmly. "I like your cute hairstyle as well."

"Thank you!" May giggled.

"Hiya! I'm Max!" The youngest kid said next.

"Tristan Taylor if you please." The tall tan teenager said. He bended to shake the smallest boy's hand.

Everyone smiled and laughed as they finally got along. Mokuba and Pegasus smiled as they are happy and relieved that the youth buried the hatchet and became friends, even though they're from different worlds. Kaiba just sat on his chair with his back turned and folded arms for he does not care of the Pokémon trainers and duelists becoming friends.

"Pika!" Pikachu hopped in between them and looked up to Yugi and the gang who startled with intimidation. "Whoa! Take it easy, little guy! Don't shock us!" Yugi squealed in alarm.

"We're not harming you!" Joey added.

Pikachu cocked its head innocently. "It's okay, guys. He just wants to be your friend." Ash assured them. "Don't worry, he won't shock you, unless I tell him to or if you make him mad."

Pikachu squeaked, flipping his long black-tipped yellow ears up and down, begging to be pet. Yugi cautiously bent down and reached his hand toward the yellow lightning mouse, and gingerly touched its yellow head. Pikachu purred. Yugi began stroking it in the long pointy ears. It thumped its hind paw as a sign of pleasure and fondness to the teenaged boy. "Pika!" Yugi sighed in relief and smiled.

"That means he likes you, Yugi" Ash said.

"Ha ha ha! Hi, Pikachu!" Yugi grinned.

"He's so cute!" Tèa said blissfully.

"Pika-chu!"

"Well, 'Pika-chu' to you, too," Tristan grinned.

"Pretty cool!" Joey added. They each took turns petting the mouse Pokémon.

"Thanks for helping us with Team Rocket earlier," May said.

"And for bringing back my Pikachu!" Ash added.

"Pika!"

"Hey, don't sweat it, guys!" Joey said. "Just glad to help!"

"We're really grateful for your assistance." Brock said.

"Those dimwits would have gotten away for sure if it weren't for Yugi!" Max added. "You're a hero."

"Heh heh! Ah, it was nothing really." Yugi said modestly, blushing. "Actually, you should thank the pharaoh. He's the one who saved us."

The trainers paused right there in queer when he mentioned that word. "Pharaoh?" Ash repeated in puzzlement.

"What pharaoh?" Brock asked.

"Pikachu?"

"That's right, the pharaoh did do all the work." Tèa said. "He deserves all the credit."

Disoriented, the siblings looked at each other in question, wondering what is she talking about.

"Yeah, he totally kicked major butt!" Joey said. "Did you see how he blew up Team Rocket in the sky? 'Mind Crush'!" He did an imitation of the pharaoh casting a dark spell.

"He zapped those dimwits like they were nothing!" Tristan added. "Of course they were nothing in the first place. I could have taken them out myself!" He folded his arms.

"Yeah, me too!" Joey chuckled, also folded his arms.

The Pokémon trainers looked confused. "But wasn't that you who fought Team Rocket, Yugi?" May asked the eccentric colored-haired teenager. "We all saw you in action."

"Well, yeah, sort of. That may have looked like it was me there." Yugi answered circuitously, itching his face with his finger. "But that wasn't just me out there, it was a different me."

The Pokémon gang did not understand. "I'm confused." Ash said. "What do you mean 'a different me'?"

"Pika."

"There are two sides of Yug you see," Joey explained. "There's the light one and the dark half. Yugi's the light one and the dark half lives inside Yug's Millennium Puzzle."

The Pokémon trainers frowned as they tried to grasp on what they're saying. "Whenever there's trouble, the pharaoh comes out of the Millennium Puzzle and takes over Yugi's body," Tristan put in. "You see, they take turns being each other whenever the circumstances."

"What he meant to say was that there are two spirits sharing one body," Tèa added in to make things clearer. "Yugi is more like the vessel and the spirit of the pharaoh hosts him."

The trainers were still lost from the cryptic explanation. "I'm sorry, but we're still a little lost here," Ash said.

"Who is this pharaoh you keep speaking of?" May asked.

"I thought pharaohs are ancient Egyptian rulers," Max said, folding his arms.

"Pika."

"Oh boy, I'm going to have to start from the very beginning, huh?" Yugi said. "But It's really an epic story that I don't know where to begin."

"Just break it down into details," Ash suggested.

"You can tell it to us over lunch, Yugi," Brock suggested. "That is, if you would like to join us."

The dueling team smiled in gratitude. Their stomachs were growling. "Really? That would be delightful!" Joey beamed.

"Super! We're starving!" Tristan rejoiced.

"That sounds good," Yugi smiled.

"You can make lunch, Brock?" Tèa asked.

"Yep, all I need is ingredients," the dark spiky haired teen answered.

"Brock cooks really good," Ash said. "You'll really enjoy his cooking. Come on, let's look for the ingredients so we can hear Yugi tell the story." The party scattered and searched the virtual woods for lunch supplies so Brock can get cooking.

* * *

Outside the KaibaCorp building, a dark cloud has ascended when the Team Rocket duo, Billy and Kidd arrived at last in front of the gaming industry. They parked their motorcycle, hopped out, removed their helmets and sunglasses, and replaced them with their trademark cowboy hats. "At last, we have arrived at our destination. The short black-haired man said.

"So, this is KaibaCorp, eh? One of the biggest industries in the world," Billy observed. "Duh, It ain't look like much. You think they would have make it taller than the Pokémon Tower."

"This is it alright," Kidd said. "This is where they are keeping the most powerful monsters cards. The Blues-Eyes White Dragon is practically in our grasp now." He examined the statue of the Blue Eyes Dragon.

"With a big place like this, it's bound to be full of tight and tough securities," Billy said. "But there ain't nothing we can't handle, eh Kidd?"

"True, but I think we should try a different approach," Kidd said.

"Duh, how different? We knock on their door?" Billy asked dumbly.

Kidd glared at slow partner. "No, you blubber-headed dolt!" He said sharply. "Breaking and sneaking in underneath their noses has been quite too easy for us. I was thinking it's time we try something new for a change, Bill." His large partner looked at him carefully.

"From what I read, the late Gozaburo Kaiba started this company and ran until his own stepson surpassed him." Kidd continued. "This Kaiba character seems like a very interesting person. I would surely like to meet him in person and his younger brother."

"And pretty tough from what I heard," Billy said. "His strongest cards are gonna be hard to beat."

Kidd closed his eyes and smirked. "Once again true, but he'll be just another target." He opened his eyes and looked up the building. "And besides that, I hear that the creator of Duel Monsters is currently attending there for a project and..." he paused to chuckle deviously. "Quite frankly I've always wanted to meet him. He's the one who made things possible."

"Ha ha ha! That's true! If it ain't for Pegasus, we wouldn't have right tools to conquer all!" Billy agreed.

"What we would like to do is spread a little mayhem, show them that we mean business. There's a couple of security guards warding each sector, and well, somebody has to tell them what a good job they're doing, don't you think?" Kidd looked at his partner cunningly.

"That's sound great, Kidd!" Billy smirked pleasing. "Boy, you are the man, Kidd! It's no wonder we're an unstoppable duo! The Boss was a sucker to hire us as hunters to get his Ball of the Underworld! Ha ha ha!"

Kidd chuckled darkly in agreement. "Indeed, Billy." He smiled wickedly as the duo are prepared to penetrate the tight and wealthy industry of KaibaCorp.

* * *

Back at the virtual world, the whole party met back in the grove a one hour later with some wood, food, and ingredients. While Brock prepared lunch, Yugi chronicled the whole history of his Millennium Puzzle to their newfound friends, from the beginning to the present. With no detailed missed out, the Poké gang gradually understood and learned about Yugi's link with the Millennium Puzzle and the spirit of the pharaoh who lives inside it.

"I see," Ash finally said. "So you have a 5,000-year-old spirit living inside your Millennium Puzzle? That's pretty hype."

"Pikachu!"

"Ever since I completed the puzzle, he's been residing inside of my body," Yugi said. "Whenever there's trouble, he emerges from the Millennium Puzzle and takes over my body, and pretty much does the hard work that I couldn't pull."

"That's pretty amazing," Brock commented, stirring the stew.

"Is that spirit really from 5,000 years in the past?" May asked.

"That's right, May." Yugi nodded. "In his days as pharaoh, he locked away an all powerful evil magic and sealed it inside the Millennium Puzzle along with himself, saving Egypt from complete annihilation."

"Then five millenniums later, our pal Yug put together the pieces into one and became Yami Yugi," Joey added.

"I haven't forgotten the day he rescued us from that bully," Tristan added his piece also.

"And the time he saved me at a burger restaurant where I used to work," Tèa detailed.

"Two spirits, two minds, one body!" Tristan put in one more detail.

"Wow, imagine having two identities," Ash said. "One minute you're normal high school student, and then the next, you're a supercool butt-kicking pharaoh."

"Kind of like a superhero," Max said. "Except you have less time to change out of your wardrobe and put on a cape. You just hold on to the Millennium Puzzle and you're good to go!"

"Yep, that's just about it," Joey said.

"That's our guy!" Tristan said.

"I don't know about you, but I like the sweet Yugi better," May said, eying admiringly at the King of Games. "He's kinda cute!" She fluttered her eyes which caused Yugi blushed and chuckled coyly.

"Hey, that's my friend!" Tèa ejaculated jealously. She doesn't like it when some other girl flirts when her childhood friend.

"Oh, are you jealous?" May asked teasingly.

"Uh...no!" Tèa blushed.

"Then I hope you wouldn't mind if I sit next to Yugi," May giggled and sat next to the shy spiky haired teen.

Tèa growled in steaminess, displeased at the young brunette curling next to Yugi. Max giggled.

"Lunch is ready." Brock informed. "We're having apple and spice stew and sandwiches á-la-mode."

Everyone stood up from the logs they were sitting and got ready to help themselves. "Awesome," Ash said.

"Finally, I'm famished," May said.

"That looks great, Brock," Yugi said.

"Smells good!" Tèa said.

"Time to dig in!" Max added.

But before the group could get close to the pot, Joey and Tristan wasted no time, pushing their friends aside and pounced on the Pewter City gym leader's chow. Brock exclaimed in surprise as the tall boys began wolfing down the stew and sandwiches.

"Hey, guys! Save some for us!" May said.

"Don't hog it!" Max added. He and the others reached for the portion.

Both of the boys snatched the pot and plate away from the friends and growled ravenously at them like a pair of greedy jackals, not wanting to share the meal. Ash, Yugi, Tèa, May, and Max stopped in their tracks. "Joey? Tristan?" Ash spoke up uneasily.

"Pika?"

"We're hungry too, you know," Yugi protested.

"That food was supposed to be for everyone," Tèa said.

"You wanna eat? Ask Brock!" Joey snarled, looking like a rabid dog with soup oozing from the rims of his mouth. "He's the one who cooks for you everyday!"

"Yeah! So back off! This grub's OURS!" Tristan barked. Scraps of food spat out from his mouth when he talked.

So the friends stood out of their way as the two ravenous teenaged boys continued scarfing down the rest of Brock's cooking like a pair of savages.

"Wow, they weren't kidding when they said they were starving," Brock said, amazed.

"Ugh! These guys have no manners!" May said.

"I would take their advice, guys," Téa advised. "Trying to share food with them would be like trying to take scraps from a pack of Rottweilers. They'll likely take your hands away."

A couple of minutes later, Brock remade the stew and the sandwiches while the rest ate apple slices as appetizers. Finally, everyone had a good lunch and ate, except Joey and Tristan who had their fill. Soon everyone was satisfied and happy. "Ah! That was real good cooking, Brock," Yugi said, dropping his spoon in his empty bowl. "Very delicious."

"Yeah, real satisfying," Tèa said.

"Brock always makes the best food for us," May said.

"There's plenty more where that came from," Brock smiled. "I made super double extras, in case a certain pair of someone wants more." He eyed on a full Joey who chuckled awkwardly.

Pikachu looked at the teenager's Millennium Puzzle with interest. "Pika!"

"Don't look now, Yugi, but Pikachu's really attached to that Millennium Puzzle of yours," Ash said.

"It must be feeling the pharaoh's spirit inside the Puzzle," Yugi said. "I think Pokémon have the ability to sense presences of spirits. Pikachu must be one of them."

"Pikachu!" It made contact with the Pharaoh.

"Hello, Pikachu," Yami greeted from the Millennium Puzzle.

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse squeaked. It'd never seen a spirit up close before, especially from a Millennium Puzzle. "Pi Pi Pi, Pikachu." It thanked the pharaoh for rescuing it from Team Rocket.

"Oh, it's alright, Pikachu. They won't bother you as long as I'm here."

Pikachu was surprised that the spirit can understand it. "Pikachu?"

"Of course I can understand you, Pikachu," Yami read it. "Your speech may not be readable, but I hear your thoughts clearly. I can feel what you are feeling."

"Pika Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu rubbed his head, saying "looks like Meowth isn't the only one who can speak Pokémon!"

The Pharaoh chuckled. "Yes. He could have put that big mouth of his in good use." He said, folding his arms.

Pikachu chuckled along and continued to make conversation with the pharaoh spirit.

"Boy, Pikachu is having a chat with the pharaoh," Yugi observed them on his lap. "The pharaoh can read its mind, I think."

"I wish I could understand what are they talking about," Ash said.

"Pikachu." Translation: "I hope you get your memory back."

"I will, Pikachu," the pharaoh replied. "With the help of my friends, I will find my way back home."

"Pika."

"So you said that the pharaoh doesn't even remember his own name?" Max asked. "That's so sad."

"We're working on helping him remember his past," Yugi said. "With the aid of the God cards and the Millennium Items, I'm sure we will be able to unlock his memories."

"Hmm." Ash, Brock, May, and Max hummed in interest.

Tristan looked up and frowned as he observed the Pokémon trainers in puzzlement. "Hey, guys? Can I ask you something?" He addressed them.

"What about, Tristan?" Ash asked.

"I hope this doesn't sound like I'm being nosy, but if you guys are Pokémon trainers, why'd you end here in the Duel Monsters world?" The pointy haired teen asked. "We thought you'd only stayed on the other side, catching Pokémon and gaining badges and stuff."

"I agree with Tristan, we were surprised to see trainers like yourself from the other world wandering around in Domino City," Tèa said.

"Yeah, what drew you guys here in the dueling arena?" Joey added. "You mind spilling the beans with us?"

"Well, you see, it's kind of a long story," Ash put in. "It was my fault to begin with."

"Oh really? Give us the details then," Yugi said.

Now it was the Pokémon trainers' turn to tell their side of the story. A few minutes later, Ash told the dueling team everything about how they accidentally missed their bus and rode to Domino City.

"So you guys got here by the wrong bus?" Joey said. "That's an unusual style of traveling."

"That's kind of funny," Tristan said. "No offense."

"We're sorry that you missed your contest, May," Tèa said.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." May said.

"I feel bad that we missed the contest because of me," Ash said guiltily.

"Don't worry about it, Ash. You know what they say: everything happens for a reason," Brock said optimistically. "If we didn't miss our bus, we'd never would have gone to Domino City. You learn something new everyday."

"That's true," Joey said. "I'd never knew that I get to see Pokémon."

"I'd never knew that there was another side of the world." May said

We learned that Pokémon aren't the only phenomenon in this world." Brock said.

"I'd like to learn about Duel Monsters now," Max said, feeling excited. "I'd like to play with those metal thingies you wore on your arms."

"You mean this?" Yugi said, presenting his duel disk. "It's called a duel disk."

"A duel disk," Ash recited, eying on the KaibaCorp gadget. "How does it work?"

"You place on it your forearm, near the wrist." Yugi instructed. He lent his young friend his duel disk to tutor him.

Ash inserted it on his forearm, near his wrist as instructed. "Like this?"

"There you go," Yugi said. "Now you can activate it by moving your arm erect."

Ash moved his arm up as told, opening up the duel disk. He laughed in amazement. "Neato!"

Brock and May's gadgets lent by Joey and Tèa activated as well. "Nice!" The spiky haired preteen exclaimed.

"Won't this make a nice fashion accessary?" The young brunette beamed.

Max tried to activate the weighty gadget on his forearm, swinging his arm up and down. "Mine's not working!"

Tristan bended down to assist him. "That's because you're holding it upside down. Here." He removed the duel disk from Max's forearm and switched in the correct position, activating it at last.

"Cool!" The youngest boy said.

"Now we'll teach you about the heart of the cards," Yugi said, getting out his card deck.

"The heart of the cards?" Ash repeated. Yugi slipped the cards in the black-haired trainers's hands to shuffle them first. Ash fumbled with them and dropped them on the grass.

"Oops! Sorry, Yugi," he apologized.

"That's alright, Ash." Yugi replied warmly. He and Ash bended down and picked up the cards.

"Pika!" Pikachu held a card in its paws. It was looking at a picture of an electric squirrel-like monster.

Yugi and Ash looked over and saw what Pikachu was holding. "Hey, that one looks like Pikachu," the black-haired trainer said.

"It sure does," Yugi agreed. "That one can be your card, Ash. It is called Wattsquirrel, one of the most special effect monster cards."

"Really? Cool," Ash said, taking the Wattsquierrel card from Pikachu.

"I got my favorite card, I call this one Dark Magician," Yugi said, sharing his special monster card.

"That's the one you beat Team Rocket with, right?" Ash said. "He looks pretty awesome!"

"Pika!"

"He is. He's my prized and the most trusted monster I ever got." The King of Games said.

"Those monsters on the field looked totally real!" May said.

"They are real, May," Tèa said. "In spirit. They share your passion, feeling, and love for dueling. With a strong bond between you and them, you have complete faith and heart of the game."

"Just like I do with my Pokémon." Ash said, inspired.

"There you go!" Yugi concurred. "You gotta believe in the heart of the cards."

"The heart of the cards," Ash repeated. Yugi started guiding his new friend through the card game.

The others toured their trainer friends through the dueling world of monsters, spells, and traps. Tristan helped Max summon a monster into reality.

"This is just like Pokémon!" The youngest member exclaimed. "Except none of them looked like humans and you don't have to worry about responsibility."

"I wouldn't say anything about not taking responsibility," Yugi said. "They still need lots of care."

"And attention," Joey said. "I have a certain card that is high of maintenance."

Everyone laughed in amusement as they are having a good time learning and teaching about Duel Monsters.


	12. Trouble in KaibaCorp

Meanwhile, back in the Pokémon world, night has fallen upon Dynamo City where a museum was closed for the night. In the dimmed artifact exhibit room, the ancient Ball of the Underworld sat on a cushion encased in a glass cube, waiting to be examined by visitors. Above, a tile square was removed from the ceiling. Then, figure in black descended slowly from hole, suspending over the display glass containers. Hanging over like a model airplane, the figure took out a can of aerosol and sprayed a mist of liquid particle over the room, revealing straight beams of red lights, protecting the artifacts.

The figure looked up the ceiling and signaled his partner in the hole. The female in black took out a bolt and rubber band and aimed for the security perimeter box. She shot it and the bolt hit directly in the wires, jamming the system and eliminating the laser beams.

With the security protection canceled out, the male figure removed the knot from his waist and landed safely on the floor. His female partner descended down the cable and joined her partner. They stood over the display case and examined their target, the Ball of the Underworld. They removed their black balaclavas, revealing to be Butch and Cassidy.

"So this is it?" The blue-haired said softly. "This is what the Boss wants? Looks more like a regular chew toy to me."

"This not just any ball, Butch, it's the Ball of the Underworld," his red-haired partner said. "It's supposed to contain the three-headed beast of the Shadow Realm, Cerberus."

"I thought Cerberus is just a myth," Butch said. "What if it doesn't turn out what we thought? We might be swiping just a ordinary ancient artifact."

"Either way, we have to do what the Boss requests," Cassidy said, getting out her laser pen. "If the Boss wants the Ball of Cerberus, we have to give it to him." She pierced the hot fiery beam at the surface of the glass roof, drawing a perfect circle. Carefully, she pushed the circle shaped fragment down and grappled hold before it fell underneath. With protective gloves, Cassidy dipped her arm inside the carved hole to grab the ancient orb.

But before she could touch it, they heard a door unlocking. Butch and Cassidy gasped in alarm and froze. The knob twisted and turned. "Is that a security guard?" Butch muttered in fear.

"Impossible! We just disabled the security system!" Cassidy said.

The door opened, Team Rocket stood like statues, waiting to be caught. Standing in lightened doorway is figure of a young man with long hair with arched locks. He stepped forward from the doorway and into the dark room, revealing to be Bakura.

"Why, it's only a mere kid," Butch said.

"How did you get in here?" Cassidy asked.

Bakura approached the duo and stood in their presence. His white bangs eyes shaded his eyes.

"What are you doing in here, kid?" Cassidy asked the boy. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Funny, I put the same question to you two," Bakura replied in a dark raspy voice. "I hope you're not trying to do away with that Ball of the Underworld."

"Yeah, so what's it to you?" Butch retorted.

"That Ball is not to be touched by mortals." Bakura explained. "Cerberus is an immortal god of the Shadow Realm and is not so easily tamed."

"Oh, please! Like we're going to fall for that baloney!" Cassidy scoffed.

"You better scram, kid, or things will turn ugly," Butch threatened.

Dark Bakura chuckled and leered at the intruders cockily. "I think you're the ones who should leave before things get ugly."

"What?" Team Rocket looked at him like he's crazy.

"You fools have no idea what you're getting yourselves into." Bakura lift his chin up, bangs still covering the eyes.

Team Rocket glared at him in annoyance. "You got a pretty smart mouth, kid!" Cassidy chided.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Butch retorted. "We're Team Rocket and we mean business!"

But Bakura just emitted a sinister chuckle and laughed raucously throughout the room. The burglarious duo looked at him strangely.

"What's so funny?" Butch demanded.

"You pathetic morons have just sealed your own fate! Your souls are about to be sacrificed to the ultimate beast of the Shadow Ream!" Bakura's sharp angled dark eyes exposed from his white bangs, revealing to be the evil spirit taking over the young man's body again!

Team Rocket was fed up with his blabbering. "That does it!" Cassidy growled.

"We had enough out of you!" Butch shouted. He and his partner took out their Poké balls and released their Pokémon out to fight the eccentric intruder.

"Raticate, teach this brat a lesson!" Cassidy commanded her rodent Pokémon.

"Primeape, knock the lights out of this wacko!" Butch ordered his ape-like Pokémon.

They charged at the white haired boy who stood there calmly with arms folded.

Dark Bakura's evil smile expanded and laughed sinisterly. "Heh heh heh! How pathetic!" The Millennium Ring glowed brightly, emitting dark auras from the prongs that entered the eyes of the Pokémon, affecting their minds and self-control. Primeape and Raticate froze in their tracks, still like statues.

"Why are stopping, Raticate?" Cassidy demanded.

"Stop playing around, Primeape, and get that kid now!" Butch ordered.

But the Pokémon did not respond. Something has refrained them from moving. "Hey, did you hear us!" Butch said louder. "Attack him!"

"What's the matter with you!" Cassidy ejaculated.

"Heh heh heh! Your Pokémon belong to me now!" His Millennium Ring glowed again. "Raticate, Primeape, attack."

Raticate and Primeape turned around and under the dark spirit's control turned against their masters!

"Hey!" They shouted in alarm as they rapidly eluded their attacks.

"Raticate! What the devil are you doing?!" Cassidy cried as her rat Pokémon scratched her.

"Cut it out, Primeape!" Butch shouted as he stumbled backwards from Primeape's jabs. "It's me, your trainer! Don't attack me!"

"Heh heh heh! Yes, dance, Pokémon!" The possessed boy smiled maliciously. "Dance and attack your trainers!"

"What did you do to our Pokémon?!" Cassidy exclaimed.

"I sort of gain possession over them with the power of the Millennium Ring," the evil individual answered. "Their souls are slaves to the Shadow Beast in the Ball of the Underworld!" His dark eyes leered malevolently as his Millennium Ring emitted more dark energy. "And now, you're next!"

Team Rocket look terrified. "W-wha...what are you?" Butch choked out.

"Just your worst nightmare...from another world!" The evil spirit cackled as the Millennium Ring overpowered his victims and sent them to the Shadow Realm.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Team Rocket's screams of terror curdled the halls and floors of the entire museum.

Afterwards, Butch and Cassidy's soulless bodies collapsed onto the floor and laid lifelessly at Dark Bakura's feet who cackled and took the Ball of the Underworld out from the holed display case, holding it at last in the palm of his hand.

"Heh heh heh heh! It's just like taking candy from a baby!" He laughed in triumph.

Suddenly, he was confronted by a mob of security forces who crashed open the other doors and pointed their guns at the intruder.

"Freeze!" A policeman ordered.

"Don't you move a muscle!"

"Put your hands in the air!"

The police Pokémon Growlithes growled ferociously, ready to take on the crook. Dark Bakura just laughed as he stood in the midst of the surrounding security squad. "Oh, this is just too fun!" He said, lobbing the evil ball in his hand. "It's turning out better than I expected." Clutching onto the Ball of the Underworld, he rose his arms in the air, inducing fearsome and ghoulish magic. "By show of hands, who can last in a Shadow Game the longest?" By the power of the Millennium Puzzle, the entire exhibit room was engulfed in eerie dark purple essence. Fear struck upon security squad and the Growlithes and all screamed when they dissolved into the Shadow Realm.

Finished with his dirty deed, Dark Bakura walked out of the doors of museum with his prize sitting on his possessive hand. He cackled contentedly. The Ball of the Underworld glowed eerily in his palm. "There, there, my pet," the dark spirit cooed darkly at it. "I am here to free you from your prison. You've been impounded inside that ball for far too long. The world will soon be consumed by the almighty Cerberus of the Shadow Realm. HA HA HA!"

Inside the ball, a band of red, yellow, and white pair of spine-chilling beastly eyes opened up in the darkness, stirring up from its 5,000 nap. It growled viciously, athirst for vengeance upon the world.

* * *

Although it is miles and miles away from the other side of the world, it contacted its minions which were already located inside the virtual dome, in the darkness of the forest, near the meadows the Pokémon and Duel Monsters party are hanging out. They all growled in reply if their master as they are prepared to take on the unsuspecting heroes.

Pikachu was watching its human comrades spar each other friendlily with monsters, spell, and trap cards when it sensed something lurking in the forest. "Pika!" Its black eyes wandered in suspicion. Ash, Yugi, and co. saw the uneasy mouse Pokémon and thought something is disturbing it. "What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Do you see something hiding there, Pikachu?" Yugi asked.

"Probably another Pocket Monster," Joey said.

"Pikachu!" It stood on its fours, glaring at the forest as if expecting an ambush. The party just continued their mingling, unaware of the upcoming danger.

In the front of the woods, a pack of shade-colored canine-shaped creatures concealed in the shadows of the trees, waiting for the signal. Their three-headed pack leader, resembling Cerberus stood on top of a boulder and howled in threesome at the top of their lungs. It then started to change shape, morphing into a form of a dark cloud. It spread across the blue sky, scattering the black cirrus clouds and dusking the woodlands area. The party noticed the daylight leaving and looked up in the sky. The blue atmosphere was completely covered with dark grayish clouds as if a storm is coming.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Tristan spoke up.

"Where'd the sun go?" May asked.

"Is it nighttime already?" Joey asked.

"Look up there," Tèa pointed up to the blacken sky.

On the coating clouds, the remaining lines of sunlight drew into an animated outline of a three-headed dog, the outline of Cerberus, a warning sign to the curious heroes who gazed at it in wonder.

"Whoa," Ash commented.

"That's something you don't see everyday," Yugi said.

"What is that?" Max asked.

"Looked like some kind of dog," Joey said.

"A three-headed dog," Tristan added.

"Three-headed dog?" Everyone repeated.

"Pika!" Pikachu was still paranoid about something in the dark woods, emitting lightning sparks from its red cheeks.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu!"

"Is something in the woods?" May asked.

"Pikachu's probably paranoid," Tristan said.

Out from Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, the pharaoh's spirit eyed on the black gaps suspiciously and sensed what Pikachu was sensing. "Pikachu isn't paranoid," he said. "There is something not quite right here, I too feel a dark presence nearby. I think I should take over just for caution."

The Millennium Puzzle glowed and Yami Yugi has once again taken place. "Hey, the pharaoh's back!" Max noticed.

"Stay on guard, we might get an unexpected encounter." The pharaoh advised.

The gang stood together as they prepared for the unexpected.

The same pack of shadow canines emerged from behind the trees and stepped toward the group, circling them. The group gawked at them in queer and Pikachu backed away and joined its human comrades. Cerberus' minions neared the heroes, growling and preparing to assault.

"What are they?" May asked.

"They don't like Pocket Monsters to me," Brock said.

"Aren't these creatures from your world, Ash?" Tèa asked the trainers.

Ash and his friends shook their heads seriously. "Nuh-uh. I assumed that they are from your world." He said.

Yami and the others shook their head truthfully. "We'd never seen these type of monsters ever." Joey said.

"So they're from neither worlds," Brock said. "So what does that make them?"

The black hellhounds' flaming orange-red eyes leered as they bared their fangs. The anxious party stuck close together as they prepared to defend themselves from the uninvited invaders.

"Whatever they are, they don't look like they want to play." Tristan said.

"Pika-Pika!"

"'Pika-Pika' is right!" Joey agreed, although he didn't understand what the mouse Pokémon said. The pack surrounded them in a circle. Max hid behind Tèa's long leg.

"Everyone, be calm," Yami instructed. "They'll only attack if you run. As long as you don't move an inch, they will leave you alone."

But to their surprise, half of the pack charged at the team. The gang exclaimed in fright. Pikachu let out a huge Thunderbolt that electrocuted the shadow dogs, shattering them to pieces.

The other half of the pack pounced on the other friends, but Pikachu defended its human comrades once more.

"So much for standing still," Joey commented sarcastically.

The unbounded shadow creature pack mobbed around the party,

"There's too many of them!" Max said.

"There's no way we'll out outrun them!" May said.

"Then we have to fight back!" Yami said, getting out his duel disk.

"I'm with you!" Joey said, getting out his duel disk.

"I'll do whatever I can!" Brock volunteered, enlarging his Poké ball.

The party released their Pokémon and Duel Monsters to fight and defend themselves against the mysterious invaders.

* * *

Back at the lab, the developers peered at the unusual turn of events at the video camera screen.

"What are those things?" One of them asked.

"Are they Pocket Monsters?"

"I don't know."

"Weird."

The Kaiba brothers also noticed the uninvited enemies they've never seen before.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Mokuba said.

"I don't know, I don't remember programming those in the database," Kaiba said. Suddenly, he was interrupted by a cellphone call. "Yes?" He answered.

"Mr. Kaiba? We have a problem," it was their advisor, Roland.

"What is it, Roland? I'm in the middle of something." Kaiba asked impatiently.

"There's a couple of strange men in cowboy hats loitering in the lobby," Roland informed.

"Strange men dressed in cowboy hats?" Kaiba repeated strangely. "What are you talking about?"

"This may sound queer, but two young men in oppositely heights were just sitting in the lobby couch, doing nothing all the time," Roland described. "I just thought you should know, it's kind of suspicious."

Billy and Kidd sat in the couch as if expecting an appointment, but they're actually waiting for one of their extra helpers to give the signal and slip them the secret key to the insides of the wealthiest and powerful company building.

In the surveillance room, a guard was under a spell by Kidd's Misdreavus by Hypnosis. It also cut away the other security videos to prevent Team Rocket from being detected during their break-in mission. It chirped mischievously and psychically moved the joystick, causing the surveillance camera in the lobby to move in circles and signaling its trainers.

Kidd saw it and smirked in satisfaction. "Good job, Misdreavus." He said softly. "Let's go." He and his partner departed from the couch and got to work.

Roland was still talking on the cell phone, trying to explain about the unfamiliar visitors. "I don't know...I guess they're..." He looked up and found that the "visitors" have disappeared. "...They're gone." He spat out.

Behind him, a purple ghostly Pokémon snuck up behind the dumbfounded business advisor. Billy chuckled deviously.

"What? What is it, Roland? Come in, Roland!" Kaiba barked through the cell phone. There was no answer.

"Seto! Get a load of this!" Mokuba interrupted him.

"What is it now?" Kaiba clamped his cell phone shut and turned around to see what's up this time.

"It's that same icon from before!" His brother pointed to the computer screen. It displayed the identical sinister dark dog shape icon blinking menacing on the graphic picture.

"Who let the dogs in?" Pegasus said.

"Not again!" Kaiba said. "Who's doing this?" He typed on the keyboard, trying to figure out the problem. Mokuba stood there and watched his brother attempting to troubleshoot, pondering why are weird things keep happening today. The other developers also scattered to track down the source of the problem.

The business manager is under dazzlement by Billy's Haunter by Confuse Ray. "Nighty-night!" The big blond chortled.

Misdreavus reappeared and reunited with its owner, carrying a security card it stolen from the security card. "Phase 1 down, onward to Phase 2," Kidd said, smirking malevolently and taking the access card.

He swiped the card in the door access slot and let himself and Billy into the breach of the gaming industry. They strolled down the halls like innocent tourists.

"HEY!" A loud male voice shouted to them. More security guards confronted the penetrating Team Rocket duo, pointing their guns at them. "This is far enough! Turn back!"

Billy and Kidd remained cool as cucumbers. "Duh, Haunter, use Confuse Ray on those thugs," the big-boned blonde outlaw requested.

"Haun-ter!" The ghost Pokémon flashed its creepy angled eyes and casted its disoriented spell upon the security crew, living them stun and zombified. Billy and Kidd easily walked by them like they were statues in the park. They also passed by the office cubicles where the employees are working who also fell under Haunter's Confuse Ray so they would be to afraid or dazed scared to do anything. It was just like what Kidd said before they broke in, Team Rocket likes to spread a little mayham to shoe that they mean business and they are not to be taken lightly.

Nothing and nobody will be able to stand in their way for they will not rest until they get their hands on the powerful and rare cards.

* * *

Back on the virtual field, the heroes continued to fend off the dark canines. They more they wiped out the enemies, the more numerous replaced them. The Pokémon and Duel Monsters were growing tired.

"It's not working!" May said. "More and more just keep coming!"

"Where are they all coming from?" Ash exasperated, Pikachu shocking more hellhounds to defend his friend.

Joey noticed that Cerberus' men were mostly focusing on Ash and Yami. "If I didn't know better, I'd say these things are aiming for Ash and Yugi!"

More shadow wolves lunged at the Pokémon trainer and master duelist. Pikachu amd Celtic Guardian defended their masters once more.

"Those guys are after you!" Brock said.

"But why?" Ash asked. "What do they want with us?"

Yami studied the shadow canines carefully. "Those things, there's something familiar about them..."

"Who cares about familiars?" Tristan spoke up. "We gotta lose them somehow!"

"I got this!" Joey held out a spell card. "Blinking Gold Coin, don't fail me now!" He activated it and a flashing gold coin temporarily blinding the shadow dogs so the party can escape.

The humans managed to retreat to the neck of the dark woods. "Phew! I think we lost them!" Ash panted.

"That was scary!" Max said.

"I think my heart is pounding!" May said, placing her hand on her chest.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Yami said. "I think this place is falling apart."

Everybody looked with fear about what he said.

Suddenly, a video screen appeared in the dark sky again. "Hey, it's Mr. Pegasus again." Max said.

"Is everyone alright?" The white-haired man asked.

"We were just attacked," Ash answered. "A dozen of shadow dogs chased after us and we barely got away."

"I don't recall video games being this violent!" Joey said.

"I'm sorry, my dear children, but there's something I need to tell you." Pegasus said.

"What about?" Tèa asked.

"It's bad news I'm afraid," Pegasus answered.

"Just tell us! We can take it." Max said.

"Well, I can't really explain, but there's something very bad going on in this virtual world, like a virus or something."

"Virus?" Everyone repeated in unison.

"Someone or something hacked into the KaibaCorp software and has taken over the gaming system!" Pegasus answered.

"So what's going to happen to this place?" Tèa asked.

"If you don't get out of there sooner..." Pegasus put in gravelly. "This virtual game will shut down. Everything you see here will be deleted, along with you." His brown eye shone gravelly. "You eight will be gone forever!"

The party expressed in horror at what they heard. "G-g-gone?" Brock stuttered. "Deleted?"

"Gone forever?" Joey choked out.

"Tell us this is all a prank!" May pleaded.

Pegasus shook his head in seriousness. "You have to get out of here now while you still can!"

"How do we get out of here?" Ash asked.

"Quickly, you must exit through the-" Unfortunately, Pegasus' video screen cut away before he could inform them the way out. The game is falling down and the youth are on their own.

"Mr. Pegasus, where'd you go?" May asked.

"Exit through where?!" Tristan spat out desperately.

Suddenly, the whole forest began to rumble, shaking like an earthquake. The friends exclaimed in alarm as they wobbling on the moving ground.

"What's happening?" May shouted.

"It's an earthquake!" Joey exclaimed.

Suddenly, the ground on edge crumbled underneath them. Max's foot got caught in the fissure and the youngest member yelled as he toppled backwards, over the edge.

"MAX!" The gang cried.

Max screamed as he began to plunge into a long deep cliff. "MAX NO!" Ash, Tristan, Brock, Tèa, and Yami cried.

"SAVE HIM!" May screamed.

Just then, Joey threw himself over the edge and caught the falling boy just in time by the ankle. He hung on to the branch and kept grip on May's brother, hoping not to slip and lose grip. Max whimpered as the two of them held on to dear life over the black bottomless fissure.

"Hang on, Max! I gotcha!" Joey said. "Just don't look down!"

"A little too late for that," Max said ironically.

"You guys okay?" Ash asked from the edge.

"We're fine, but barely!" Joey replied.

"That was a gutsy move, Joey," Tristan said. "You could fallen too!"

"We have to pull them up." Yami said.

"Leave this to me!" May said, enlarging her Poké ball. "Go, Bulbasaur!" She threw it and out came a greenish dinosaur with a large plant bulb on her back.

"Bulbasaur!"

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to pull Joey and Max up to safety!" May commanded her Pokémon.

"Bulba-saur!" The grass Pokémon obeyed and wrapped her green vines around Joey's waist. With slight difficulty, she craned the two boys from the ledge and placed them on safe ground away from edge. Joey and Max sat on the grass, gasping for breath of air. "Oh man! I feel like my heart's beating like a drum!" The youngest boy respired.

"You alright, though?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Max nodded.

"That was too close," Brock said.

"Big time," Tristan said.

"You got to be more careful, Max," Ash warned. "Next time, we may not be around to save you."

"I will." Max said and turned to Joey. "I owe you big time, Joey. Thanks!"

"No problem, Max." The blond teen said. "Thank you for helping us out, May." May nodded in return.

"We're not out of the frying pan just yet." Tristan said. "Look at the woods!" Everyone lifted their heads up and gandered at the forest. Vegetation rumbled and shook violently again as if there is an aftershock. Many virtual birds flew from trees and evacuated from the area. With immediate feelings of anxiety and danger arousing inside them, the party knew that it was bad omen and the forest is no longer safe. Peril is coming after them. The trees tumbled and sank underneath below the surface as the destruction of forest level area begins! The party gasped in horror as the decomposing three-dimensional ground drew near them. "Oh no!" Ash shouted.

"Pika!"

"The forest is coming down!" Yami said.

"Let's run for it!" Tèa said.

"Where?!" The gang shouted.

"Anywhere but here!" Tèa answered.

"My thoughts exactly!" Tristan said. The group began fleeing for their lives, away from doomed forest.

* * *

Back in the laboratory, Pegasus was freaking out because he was unable to contact the clients in the virtual dome. "Oh no! I can't get through them anymore!" He said. "The video camera's been cut away!"

"None of the controls are responding!" Mokuba said, pounding on the buttons.

"I'll have to reboot the system!" Kaiba said, punching in the codes.

"But the people are still inside!" Mokuba said in concern. "Won't they be deleted?"

"They'll be fine, Mokuba!" Kaiba assured. "They're running on hard drive! I'll just reset the system settings." He got startled on resetting the machine system.

High above in the laboratory ceiling, the mystic Pokémon Mew peeked its head out from the overheads and observed from its perch on the pipes, curious about the circumstance here.

* * *

Back in the crumpling virtual world, the party sprinted faster than competitors in a marathon, trying desperately to outrun the danger. They yelled frantically as the crumpling grounds were near their fleeing feet. They barely made it when they came across a hill. They tumbled and rolled down the grassy slope until they slid to a stop on a level ground. They quickly got up and proceeded their running. But they screeched to a dead end when they came upon a crag which only leads to a very high drop to the river below. "Oh no!" Max cried.

"Just what we need!" Joey said.

"So let's jump!" Tristan suggested urgently.

"It's a 20-foot drop!" Tèa said.

"We don't know how deep the water is!" Brock said.

The two leaders looked behind them. "We have no choice!" Ash said.

"If we stay here, we're done for!" Yami said.

"Pika!"

Without any further debate, the party leaped off the cliff and briefly floated in the air. They screamed as they now plummeted over twenty-five feet straight down into the river. One by one, they bombed into the deep cold water. Under the blue gravityless realm, the members whirled their arms and legs, trying to swim. But the strong currents underwater pushed them off course. Ash clutched Pikachu in his arms and attempted to snorkel forward. Yami who is a strong swimmer tried to find the others underwater. He and Ash saw each other and effortfully extended their arms forward, trying to reached each other through the strong current. Their hands grabbed tightly hold and the leaders paddled up to surface. Their heads emerged from the rough white waters, coughing and sputtering. "Do you see the others?" Ash expectorated.

"Hey, guys! Where are you!" Yami hollered over the roaring river.

In the water turbulence, Brock brought out his Marshtomp and held on to his water Pokémon as a raft. "Guys! Anyone?" He called out.

He spotted Joey bobbing over the white water, coughing and waving for help. "Help me!"

"Joey! Take my hand!" Brock yelled as he reached his arm out.

The nearly drowning Joey reached as far as he could and grabbed hold of Brock's hand and hitched on Marshtomp next to him. "Anyone out there?!" Joey hollered.

May coughed up water as she struggled to stay afloat. She saw her younger brother dog paddling helplessly over the uncontrollable rapids, for he cannot swim in the deep water. "Help! Somebody! Help me!" He shouted.

"MAX!" May swam harder through the onerous waves toward her drowning brother and tried snag his hand, but missed. "Oh no!" She cried as Max drifted further away from her.

Luckily, Tristan swam up and caught the youngest member. "I gotcha, Max!" He said, securing him in his arms.

May lightened up in relief and gratitude. She resumed floating in the rocking stream until Tèa caught up to her and they held on tight to each other. The waters carried off the other pairs, each apart from each other in the rapid rivers.

Yami, Ash, and Pikachu picked up speed as the river ferried further down, breaking away from their friends. "I can't find anyone!" Ash said.

"BROCK, JOEY, TRISTAN, MAX, MAY, TÈA! ANSWER ME!" Yami roared at the top of his lungs.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu saw something dreadful coming their way and tapped his human partners' shoulders.

"What is it now, Pikachu?" Ash asked. His and Yami's face changed into terror when they saw that they were heading for a waterfall!

"Yugi!"

"Ash!" Yami bellowed. He, Ash, and Pikachu held on to each other and yelled as they are about to fall off the waterfall!

"Joey!" Shouted Brock.

"Brock!" Joey hollered as he, Marshtomp and the gym leader shifted into a new direction, traveling down a channel which leads to the seashores.

"Tèa!" May cried.

"May!" Tèa held on to her younger ally as they ended up in a meander, taking them to a different location.

"Max!" Tristan locked his small friend tighter in his arms.

"Tristan!" Max clung on to his older friend as they entered a dark tunnel, awaiting their new destination.

The entire party are separated, each duelist and trainer paired up and en routed to different level areas by river channels.

But for the team leaders, you might think that they have already fallen over and splashed down into the steep river, but luckily, Yami's Curse of Dragon saved them from grim fate and flighted them safely over the valley. "Great thinking, Pharaoh," Ash said. "If not for your monsters, we would have been at the bottom of the river by now."

"Yes, but we still need to find all the others," Yami said. "I just hope they all made it safely."

"Me too."

"Pikachu." The Curse of Dragon carrying the heroes evacuated from the valley and scoured over the rest of the virtual area, hoping to find their friends.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Billy and Kidd wandered in the storage space, waiting on their Pokémon who ransacked through boxes and file shelves for rare and valuable monster, spell, and trap cards.

They, Crobat and Billy's Ninjask returned to their owners with finds and dropped them in their palms. "Let's see what you 'finded' for Big Ol' Billy!" He and his short partner examined the stolen decks in their hands.

"Hmm...not bad," Kidd hummed contentedly as he found impressive and useful spell cards in his deck.

"Ooh! Purtty!" Billy exclaimed as he yielded a holographic gold monster card in his chubby palm.

"Hmm, they will do," Kidd said in satisfaction, placing the stolen cards in the belt pouch, next to his duel disk holster.

"Yeah, mine too!" his large partner agreed and inserted his booty deck next to his duel disk holster as well. He and his pygmy partner left the storage room and walked down the hall.

"Heh, heh, heh, this is gonna be one sweet party, partner!" Billy cackled. "We're gonna drive Kaiba like a blind bull in a rodeo!"

"It will be just another walk in the park," Kidd said. They came across an elevator and the shortest thief pressed the up button.

"Oh Yeah! Baby!" Billy exulted. He and his partners bumped fists in goal. "Think we got time to stop by the café? I hear that they got chocolate chip muffins."

Kidd sighed and shook his head of disapproval of his gluttonous lowly intelligent partner as their lift arrived with a ding. They stepped inside the elevator and the doors slowly closed again, on their way to the top floor. "Last stop, Seto Kaiba."

Back in the lab, Kaiba finished rebooting the security settings and pressed the red button. "There! All settings in this thing have been reset. Now to turn on the camera!" He switched the video camera back on, restoring pictures of the virtual world.

"Where are those guys?" Mokuba asked.

"Please let them be alright!" Pegasus prayed.

"Let me check!" Kaiba navigated the cameras and viewed each area sector, hoping to spot the trainers and duelists.

Secretly behind them, Mew hovered down and viewed the surveillance screen as well. To their great relief, they found out that the separated paired off friends were still in one piece, Ash and Yami flew on Curse of Dragon, Tèa and May were arriving at the darkened dead forest zone, Brock and Joey landed in the coastline, and Tristan and Max swam up to banks of a subterranean cavern.

"Looks they're still alive, for now," Kaiba said.

"But they're still trapped in there, Seto!" Mokuba informed.

"Not only that, they are completely separated in each level area," Pegasus said. "Who knows what could be waiting there for the helpless inexperienced lambs."

"From the looks of it, the program software is still unstable," Mokuba said. "I'm not sure how much time left, but we need to get them out before there's another corruption."

"This is all my fault! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Pegasus jabbered fearfully, tugging his white hair. He feared for his reputation. "If anything happens to them, I'll get sued! I'll lose millions and millions of dollars!"

"Cool it, old man!" Kaiba barked determined, putting on his trademark white coat. "I'm going in there and I'm going to bail these fools out of there."

"What?" His younger brother and Duel Monsters creator gawked at the CEO president like he's crazy.

"Are you crazy, Seto?" Mokuba gasped.

"That's suicide!" Pegasus said.

"I do not know what is going on here, but I will not let some computer virus nor power failure take my chances of eliminating the King of Games!" Kaiba vowed, getting his duel disk and deck. "I must go in there and rescue my rival before anything else happens. I can't reclaim my crown if Muto isn't alive! Besides, I got a reputation to look after. The incident of those lame Pokémon trainers will stain the company's good name and it'll me look bad."

"But Seto," Mokuba started to protest.

"Don't worry, Mokuba. With the power of the Blue White Dragon guiding me, I will make it through," Kaiba assured his brother. "No virus or hacker is going to bring me down. Muto has helped us once or thrice, now it's my turn to bail him out." He crossed over the scanner portal, entering the virtual world.

"Be careful, Seto!" Mokuba advised.

"Tell Yugi-Boy I said 'hello'!" Pegasus added.

"Mew!" The pink mystic Pokémon disappeared and teleported.

Left behind and on their own in the lab, Pegasus and Mokuba could only pray for Kaiba to find their friends and liberate from the virtual dome before the worst happens. Little they're aware of, two sinister figures with cowboy hats with "R" logos stood in the shadows, ready to take them hostage.


	13. Virtual Investigation

**To Guest: Thank you for that suggestion. I'll hang on to that idea and keep that in mind while I keep on wrting this story.**

**PEACE**

At the grim dark woods area, the two separated girls walked out of the spring onto shore, all drenched to the core. "Oh, that wasn't very fun at all!" Tèa groaned as water dripped from her brown locks and bangs. "You alright, May?"

"I guess," May replied, shuddering in wetness. "I think my clothes shrunk."

"Mine too," Tèa said as she removed her denim sleeveless jacket and wrench it dry like a towel. "They're dry-clean only."

May squeezed the water from her brown twin tails and shook her head dry. "That's the last time I travel by river. Where are we now?"

"I'm not sure," Tèa answered, putting her dry jacket back on. "But it doesn't look like the Land of Oz. We won't find anyone by staying here any longer. Come on, May." They walked away from the spring area and entered the neck of the dark woods.

* * *

At the ocean coastline area, Brock and Joey ended up at the beach where their channel ride transported them to their new destination. They stood on top of the sand as the rocky gym leader returned his Marshtomp back into its Poké ball. "Well, we're out of the frying pan and into the fire." Brock said.

"Good thing we ended up at the beach," Joey said. "It's a fine place to be when you're separated from your friends, right Brock?"

"I don't know about that, Joey," Brock replied. "It's usually the calm before the storm." He gazed at the view of the ocean and sky which is half covered with gray clouds, signing a possible storm coming.

"Less talking about storms and more about finding our friends," Joey said pointedly. He studied the rocky cliff behind him. "Let's see...if we came out from the other side of that cliff, that means we'll have to find a way around it, lok for the river, and return to where we got separated."

"No argument here," Brock agreed.

"Then let's go." Joey said. He and his young friend explored the cliffed coast, searching for another exit.

* * *

Elsewhere, Tristan carrying Max walked out from the water and stepped into the entrance of the cavern. Around them are glimmering stalagmites and crystal anthodites growing from the walls. "Looks like we're inside a cave," Tristan said.

"A subterranean cave," Max added. "Kind of creepy if you ask me." He shuddered at the sight of the sharp dripping stalactites and uglily slopping walls of mud and limestone. "Where do we go now?"

"My theory would be that if there an alternate exit at the opposite side of the cave, the best thing to do is keep going forward until we reach the end." Tristan surmised.

"Then let's get going!" Max proclaimed, ejecting from the other boy's arms and raced ahead to the flowstone tunnel.

"Max, hold up! Don't walk too far!" Tristan called up as he hurried over to catch up with the little boy.

* * *

Elsewhere, Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi rode on Curse of Dragon over the virtual landscapes, trying to spot their friends. "Any of sign of them?" Ash asked.

"Nothing yet," Yugi answered. "They could be anywhere."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open," Ash said.

They soared over a lost city that looked like ancient Rome. "Check it out. It looks like ancient ruins." Ash observed below.

"Pikachu!"

"Take a look at that!" Yugi exclaimed as he gawked up ahead.

The boys awed in wonder as they approached a colossal Roman temple in front of them. "It looks like a giant temple!" Ash exclaimed.

"Not just any temple, it looks like the temple of the gods," Yugi said. "Like the one in the text books."

"Let's check it! Maybe we'll find our friends there," Ash said.

"Pika."

The Curse of Dragon landed in the steps of the temple, letting off its passengers. Mew arrived there, floating at the temple top and flew through the gaps between the large pillars. Under the portico, tt spotted Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi approaching near the entrance. It drew a closer look. The boys stepped inside the doorway to the inside of the ancient landmark. Yugi paused and looked behind him as if he sensed something following them. "Hmm?" He saw only nothing there.

Ash paused and looked back as well. "What's the matter, Yugi?" Ash asked.

"Nothing. Just thought there was something was following us," the spiky haired teen responded. He and Ash and Pikachu carried on inside the temple. Mew hovered to the spot the human boys were, looking curious.

* * *

Elsewhere, Kaiba arrived at a tropical rainforest after passing through a portal door, on a mission to find the testers. He checked out his surroundings, shocked that he was not at the green forest where the trainers got started. It was already demolished and deleted during the corruption storm. "What in the worl-this isn't the starting point!" He proclaimed. "Either the portal got bad aim or it's worse than I thought." He said. He pulled out his tracking device that links to the duel disks owned by Yugi and his pals to locate them. "Got to find those fools before it's too late!" He activated his tracking duel disk and started attempting to track down the testers. Behind him, Mew hovered over and furtively tailed him. Kaiba was so concentrated on his tracker, he did not notice that company was following him. He hissed in frustration as the GPS screen on his radar kept receiving interference and static, possibly caused by unstable electrons and magnetic waves from the virtual jungle. "Come on, you blasted piece of junk! Where are you taking me?" He growled in frustration as he repeatedly whacked the device. Mew behind him, peeked over his broad white shoulder and eyed at the radar screen. Suddenly, a swarm of monkeys screeched above them and leaped from branch to branch in the trees, evacuating the rainforest. Kaiba and Mew gasped in trepidation as a flock of birds spew from the treetops and fleeted away along with the other Pocket Monsters running on foot as if they sensed an imminent peril nearby.

"This place is a mess!" Kaiba grumbled as he traipsed on over a jungle path. "As soon as we escape from this deathtrap, I'm pulling the plug." Just then his ears caught a hint of sound nearby. "Huh?" He paused and heeded in the silent rainforest. Mew floated behind him, also hearing the faint noises. "Who's out there?" He called out. "Show yourself!"

He picked the noises which grew louder and was emitting from the trees above. Kaiba listened closely and perceived that they were voices, human voices from the trees. He hurried to the source of those noises, incognizantly leaving Mew behind.

Kaiba arrived at a large tree where the voices was coming from. "Yugi? Wheeler? Trainers? Are you up there?" He shouted to the branches. But then, his expression changed when he discovered that the distressed voices emanating from above were not who he thought they were. It turned out to be Team Rocket, Jessie, James, and Meowth, hanging on the branches of the trees like ragged clothing, defeated from the last battle with Yami Yugi. They must have landed here in the jungle after blasting off again.

"You're not Muto!" The CEO president exclaimed.

"Eh?" The dull trio looked down and spotted Kaiba standing on ground below them.

"Hey look! A person!" Meowth pointed out.

"Who the heck are you guys?" Kaiba demanded.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie started the motto again.

"And make it double!" James added.

Meowth whacked both of them in the heads to shut them up. "We already did the motto!"

"I saw you." Kaiba recognized the thieves. "You're the thieves that snuck into KaibaCorp and hacked into the gaming system." He glared at them suspiciously. "By any chance are you the one caused the disturbance in this virtual world?"

"What?!" Team Rocket exclaimed in insult. "How dare you?!"

"Why do Team Rocket always get blamed for things?" Meowth spat out angrily. "It's not fair!"

Kaiba scoffed in response. "Well, if you're not the suspects, then I'm wasting my time with you clowns! Good day!" He turned his back and started to walk away.

"Wait! You can't leave us here!" Jessie ejaculated.

"It's not very nice to leave helpless people hanging!" Meowth said pleadingly.

"It's inhumanity!" James added.

"Not my problem!" Kaiba replied coldly. "You three should have thought twice before you trespassed here, and now you're about to learn the hard way." He kept on walking.

Team Rocket jiggled frenziedly in the branches as they begged and pleaded for the stern and cool brunet to help them.

"Come back!" Jessie shrieked.

"Get us down!" Meowth shouted.

"We know where the twerps are!" James threw one last shot. That stopped Kaiba in his tracks. He turned around and eyed on them suspiciously.

"If you help us, we will lead you to them," Jessie compromised.

Kaiba folded his arms and glared at the strangers. "You must take me for a fool!" He said coldly. "How do I know you won't try to steal my cards?"

"Hey, we steal only Pokémon, not puny trading cards!" James protested.

"And besides, you'll never be able to find the twerps on your own," Meowth pointed out. "You'll need us to guide you. After all, we wormed our way in here, we can help you worm our way out."

"Hmmm, the talking robot cat's got a good point!" Kaiba said.

"Hey, I'm not robot! I'm a Pokémon!" Meowth snapped. "Remember that!"

"You can leave these two but at least take me," Jessie begged sweetly, enlarging her pretty blue eyes. "If you do, I'll give you anything you want!" She winked flirtatiously.

"HEY!" Her male partners shouted resentfully.

Kaiba was convinced, but not by Jessie's bogus charms but because time is running out and he needs the all the help he could get to find Yugi. "Fine, you may tag along. Just as long as you don't slow me down." He drew out a card and threw it like it a boomerang. It swirled as it flew up in the branches, cutting Team Rocket loose and letting them drop to the hard ground. They groaned as they rubbed their parts that landed on.

"Good shot," Meowth said, rubbing his head.

"Is this how you rescue damsels in distress, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?" Jessie growled.

"Thank you very much, sir!" James bowed down.

"Wobbuffet!"

The brown-haired teen glared at them sternly. "But if you try to pull any monkey business on me, I will personally feed you to my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Got that?" His blue eyes glazed coldly, showing he meant business.

Team Rocket gulped. "Yes, sir!" They responded in unison.

"Then let's go." Kaiba ordered and proceeded walking down the jungle. Team Rocket scrambled to their feet and followed along.

* * *

Back in the lab, Billy and Kidd took Pegasus and Mokuba in their clutches by their Pokémon. Machamp tied up the CEO president's younger brother to the chair while the blue and yellow hound-like Pokémon Manetric stood watch in front of the Duel Monster Creator, making sure he doesn't escape. "Who are you guys?" Mokuba demanded. "Why are you here?"

"You must leave this place at once!" Pegasus added.

"Duh, that ain't how talk yer customers!" Billy said. "How rude!"

"We came here to acquire what we came for," Kidd answered the small boy's question. "What we really want is the Blue Eyes White Dragon. We must have it to achieve our goal."

"No you won't!" Mokuba retorted.

The Pokémon Beedril and Zangoose rummaged through the laboratory, knocking down equipment and stuff, searching for the Blue Eyes White Dragon card. The other scientists and engineers were tied up by Ariados. When the Pokémon found nothing, they reported back to Billy and "informed" him that it isn't present in the lab. "Duh, it ain't here, Kidd!" He translated to his partner.

"Of course it's not here!" Mokuba remarked. "My brother has it!"

"So you can just leave!" Pegasus said. The response came from Manetric who let up a light Thunder Wave as a warning. "Hey! Watch the hair!"

Kidd glared at the young dark long-haired boy face-to-face in demand. "Where is your brother?" He asked coldly. "My patience is wearing thin."

"He's not here!" Mokuba answered smartly. "I don't know where he is or when will he be back."

"We don't give up that easily, kid," Kidd said. "We will obtain what we want."

"Duh, hey Kidd!" Billy called

"What?" Kidd looked up impatiently.

"Lookie here!" Billy pointed to the surveillance screen to the virtual done. Kidd went over there to see what was he talking about. The two saw and found that their target, Seto Kaiba, along with Yugi Muto and the rest of the Pokémon trainers and duelists were probing the level areas.

"So, they're in the virtual world." Kidd spoke up. "And the King of Games is also there." His lips curled into a smirk. "How convenient."

"There's some trainers like us in there too." Billy pointed it out.

"Not only will we get the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but we will get the god cards as well." Kidd smiled deviously. "We'll be killing two Pidgeys with one stone!"

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Billy asked.

Kidd chuckled in response. They planned on invading the virtual dome and take on the two dueling champions themselves.

"Machamp, keep an eye on those two." He instructed his muscle Pokémon. "Make sure they don't escape."

"Machamp!" It flexed its muscles in obedience.

Billy snatched the Mokuba and Pegasus' mobile phones and smashed them. "Just in case you gettin' ideas for callin' fer help!" He smirked.

"Now that wasn't dignified!" Pegasus whined.

"You won't be a match for my brother!" Mokuba said, bluffing. "His monsters will cream you before you could even touch them! There's no way he'll give up the god cards to you."

"You tell him, Mokie-Boy!" Pegasus said.

"We'll just see about that, twerp!" Kidd remarked cocksurely. He and his partner headed straight to the portal scanner.

"You two don't know what you're getting yourself into!" Mokuba shouted warningly to the outlaw duo. "You'll be sorry!" But Team Rocket were already gone, transported to virtual world.

* * *

Back at the temple of the gods, Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi explored the dimmed interiors, enlightened by torches. The sounds of their steps over the hard tiles echoed throughout the quiet empty corridors. They then came across a cella with mosaic images on walls and pillars. There were also statues sculpted like legendary Pokémon such as Articuno and Entei, Pokè balls plasters carved on friezes, and pottery that tell the epics of the heroes and battle. The boys sighted with awe as they toured around the cella. "Whoa, it's like a worship room for Pokémon!" Ash observed. "Legendary Pokémon that is."

"Pikachu."

"Hmm." Yugi walked around and accidentally knocked over a big vase over a pedestal in front of him. "Whoops!" He caught it just in time before it hit the ground. He then caught a glimpse at painting of the vase. "Whoa, you got see this, Ash!"

"What?" Ash asked, hurrying to his side.

"This boy in the vase looks like you!" On the painted vase displayed a young boy in white turban, tunic, and chlamys standing with three legendary Pokémon Suicune, Raikou, and Entei. It was the young traveller who teamed up with the Egyptian pharaoh 5,000 years ago.

Ash scrutinized at the doppelgänger on the vase. "Hey, you're right! It does look like me!" He widened his eyes in wonder. "How weird."

"Pika!" He saw that his yellow double with the Pokémon traveller is also painted on the vase, resembling him as well.

"He even got a Pikachu with him." Ash noticed.

"Maybe he's your ancestor or something," Yugi said, placing the vase back where it belonged.

The pharaoh floated from the Millennium Puzzle and stood next to his partner. He stared closely at the traveller on the vase, feeling a faint connection to the young traveller painted on the vase.

"Look at this one!" Ash pointed to the wall that displayed a full painting of an army of people in Roman battle armor and Pokémon fighting on their side. It also displayed the Roman barbarians assaulting and terrorizing villagers and snatching their Pokémon and stealing them.

"They were Pokémon poachers," Yugi perceived. "I've read that they invaded Ancient Egypt and tried to steal everything."

"They must be the original Team Rocket from 5,000 years ago," Ash estimated. He saw the painting of a king leader resembling Giovanni, head of Team Rocket. "And this guy must be the forefather. Team Rocket's been around for thousands of years."

"Luckily they were stopped by a brave traveller and put to justice," Yugi added that detail. "See here?" He pointed to another mosaic painting on the corner. It showed Ash and Pikachu's look-alikes defeating Brutus and his Persian, ceasing his Pokémon poaching days.

"The leader of old Team Rocket, Brutus was then sentenced to the depths of the Shadow Realm along with his men," Yugi continued. "They were never seen again."

"Pikachu." It felt disturbed from the story.

"They were after something more valuable in Egypt, besides Pokémon, weren't they?" Ash asked.

"They did have their eyes on something." Yugi replied, folding his arms. "I believe it was a something belonging to the Pharaoh."

"The Millennium Puzzle?" Ash asked in queer.

"Pikachu?" It turned to the spirit of the puzzle in question.

"They wanted the Millennium items to restore their respected deity," Yugi said. He and his friend turned around and gasped in wonder when they discovered something.

In front of them is a marble monument of the monstrous three-headed demon of the Shadow Realm. "Cerberus!" They emaciated together.

"Pikachu!"

"I heard stories about Cerberus," Yugi said. "He was a three-headed dog demon that guarded the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm?" Ash repeated.

"It's where all that dark and formidable magic came from." Yugi said. "It's also where souls gets banished after losing a game. Legend has it that Cerberus was Zorc's pet, created from the part of its body and lived only to serve its master. Each of their heads represent their own character. One: deviousness, second head: anger, and third: sorrow."

"So Cerberus wasn't a Pokémon or a Duel Monster? Then what was he?"

"Nobody really knows for sure. There were many theories. Scholars stated that he was an intelligent creature that knew dueling and Pokémon training. Others argued that it was a mindless beast that raged out of control frm all the souls of the Shadow Realm. Either way, he was the perfect killing machine."

"Pika."

Ash thought about that Ball of the Underworld at the museum at the Dynamo City. "I wonder if that Ball of the Underworld..." He mumbled to himself and gasped when something hit him.

"Is something wrong, Ash?" Yugi asked.

"Nothing." Ash fibbed.

The two boys remained in the cella of Cerberus for a while, trying to learn more about Cerberus and the prophecy.

* * *

Meanwhile, the girls walked through such a caliginous background surrounded by dead trees moaning, shadows shaped like scary faces, and eerie night noises such as the owl. The night sky was pitched black with the only light from the yellowish full moon sheltered by dark gray clouds. "Not exactly a cheery place, is it?" May said, shivering.

"Not my idea of hiking in the woods either," Tèa agreed. "I feel like were in a horror film and a slasher guy wearing a hockey mask is going to pop out anytime and 'greet' us."

"Ooh! Don't say that!" May said. "So what do you think the chances of us getting out of this world?"

"From the look of things, I'd say we should concentrate on finding our friends first." Tèa answered. "Come to think of it, I don't even know where to begin."

"Hey, look there!" May pointed at something ahead.

"Huh?" Tèa looked up. They arrived at a tall wrought iron gate with granite walls and a barbed arch that appears to be an entrance to a misty area.

"What is it?" May asked.

Tèa took a closer look. "It looks like...a graveyard." She spotted some tombstones in the clearing mist.

"Graveyard?" May squeaked.

"If wise words spoke truthfully, the best thing to do is search at a place that no one would go," Tèa thought. "Maybe we'll find some clues there or maybe a secret way out." She found the locks chained on the gates.

"You're not seriously about going in there, right?" May uttered in fear. "Tell me you're just kidding!"

"Relax, May. There's nothing to fear of," Tèa said boldly, jiggling the chains. "You're an adventurer, you should be used to those kind of things by now." She unlocked the locks and let it and the chains drop to the ground. She pried the iron doors open.

"You must crazy! There could be ghouls, ghosts, and zombies lurking there!" The timid girl stepped backwards.

"If you're too scared to go, then just wait here," the feisty teenaged girl slipped through the opened gates and entered the cemetery without her friend.

May shivered as she stood outside the cemetery entrance alone and changed her mind. "Ooohhh! Tèa, wait for me!" She hollered and ran through the graveyard gates after her friend. Mew arrived there, wondering what were two human girls doing penetrating the virtual gravesite.

Tèa and May explored through the graveyard. Fog rolled in and streamed along the headstones. May shivered in spookiness as she rued coming this spine-chilling site. "I don't want to complain, but I've never wanted to be in this freaky world in the first place," May said. "I'd rather be at the Pokémon Coordination Contest."

"I don't blame you, May," Tèa said, sharing her feeling of trepidation and rethought her decision. "On second thought, maybe this isn't a good idea. I think we better turn back now."

"Smart idea." May agreed. "We probably won't find the pharaoh or the others there anyway."

"That is, if we find our way out." Tèa looked around anxiously, trying to remember where they came from. Everywhere they go, they see only one gravestone to another. Ghostly noises filled the air. The fog got thicker and obscured. The girls whimpered in fear and stood close to each other with both backs touching, surrounded by endless headstones and eerie. They whimpered in fear as they are lost in a terrifying virtual gravesite of all the other level areas.

* * *

Back at the underground tunnel, Tristan and Max walked down the dark tunnel with the tall guy shining the way with his mini flashlight. "This tunnel seems endless," the youngster said. "I wondering if there really is an exit."

"Of course there is," Tristan said optimistically. "Trust me, we're almost there."

"That's what you said earlier, and earlier before," Max said.

"Don't worry, this time I'm positive we're nearly there."

But Max didn't think so when he noticed something as they kept walking. "Um, Tristan, I'm beginning to think we've been going around in circles." He spoke up nervously.

"Don't be silly. There's no way we could be lost," Tristan said roseately. "Look, footprints." He pointed to the fresh tracks on the ground. "The others must be been here."

Max took a closer look at the tracks. "Those are our footprints!" He analyzed. "We _have_ been walking around in circles!"

"This can't be!" Tristan ejaculated. "Stay right here." He ran off to the left, leaving Max behind. The youngster remained where he was and saw Tristan returning from the opposite direction. "No no no!" He muttered fearfully. "Wait here, Max." He ran off again to the left and once again returned from the same path he ran from earlier. It turned out they been walking around the same column in a circle path all this time. Tristan crashed to the ground and placed his hands on his head. "Okay, calm down! Don't panic!" He jabbered.

"I am calm," Max said.

"Not you, me!" Tristan was trying not to lose his mind. "Gotta think of a plan!" His hand swung from his side and mistakenly knocked the youngest kid across the head.

His glasses flew out of his face and slid somewhere. Max sat up and achingly peeked his eyes open. From his vision, everything is obtuse and blurry. "Oh great!" He griped. "Nice move, Tristan! I can't see anything!"

"Sorry, Max!" Tristan apologized.

Max crawled on the floor all fours, searching for his glasses. "Don't just stand here! Help me find them!"

"Oh right! I'm on it!" Tristan dropped to his knees and assisted his little friend in finding his glasses. In the tunnels, there are a couple shadowy figures standing in the arc ways.

* * *

At the Roman ruins site, Ash and Yugi explored around the lost city, sighting the architecture shambles. "Wow, what a place!" Ash said. "This is just like the one I went a field trip to once."

"Pikachu."

They then came across a large colosseum and gazed at it with awe. "Awesome!" Yugi exclaimed as he and Ash rushed inside the entrance to check it out. They stood in the middle of an opened dirt-covered area.

"It's so spacious here," Ash said.

"It's quiet here," Yugi said. "Too quiet."

But that was about to end when they heard loud stomping nearby. They gasped when they rose their heads up. "That wasn't one of the old pillars falling down, was it?" Ash asked.

"Nope!" Yugi replied.

Emerging from the gladiators doors, an giant anthropomorphic bull in Roman armor and sword stepped out from the darkness and stood over the human heroes, challenging them to a battle.

"Uh-oh!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Nice bull!" Ash squeaked.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu hid behind Ash's shoulder.

"Stand back!" Yami Yugi stood in front of his friends, guarding them from the militant giant Minotaur.

* * *

At the gravesite, the two girls were still lost and surrounded by headstones, unable to find their way back through the thicker fog. Things were turning from bad to worse when they heard moaning sounds nearby. "Tèa?" May spoke up.

"Yeah, May?" Tèa answered.

"Is this what they mean by ' grave mistake'?" May punned.

"Uh-huh!"

Below their feet, the earth grumbled and cracked. The girls looked down anxiously and witnessed a group of monster zombies popping from the dirt like flower sprouts. Tèa and May uttered screams of horror as they stood frozen, too terrified to move.

* * *

Back at the ocean shores, Joey and Brock took five on the sand, bushed from all that walking at the mile-long beach. It appears that they could not find another way through the steep cliff. "Oh, man! We must have a walked over 30 millimeters." Brock panted, hands on his knees.

Joey sat on the sand, feeling empty. "All this walking has made me hungry! You got any more sandwiches, Brock?"

"How can you think of food in a time like this?" Brock asked in shock.

"Hey, I can't think on a empty stomach." Joey said. "If I don't eat something, we may never get out of here."

Brock groaned in hopelessness and shook his head. Suddenly, they felt the earth rumbling and low growling close by.

"I hear that?" Joey uttered in suspense.

"I'm hoping that's your stomach," Brock said.

But they were proven wrong when they felt hot air blowing behind them. With fear struck upon their faces, Joey and Brock turned their heads around and found a 50-foot megalodon-like floating monster leering down at them with its black round eyes, showing its formidable rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Oh no!" Brock exclaimed in terror.

"Aie-yi-yi-yi!" Joey's eyes widened in awe. "Now dat's one big fish!"

* * *

Underneath the cavern, Max and Tristan was still on the floor, searching for the boy's missing glasses. The glasses laid on the ground further away from them until somebody picked them up and handed them to Max.

"Ah, there they are!" He saw them and place his glasses back on. "Thank you!" But then his expression changed when he saw a mob of trolls standing in front of him with large clubs. Max whimpered as he scrambled backwards. "Tristan!" He hollered.

Tristan jumped to his side and pulled the youngster away before one of the trolls slammed its club on the spot. The two boys are confronted by a mob of trolls, getting ready to take on them. Tristan held Max close, protecting him from the hungry foes.

* * *

Back in the jungle, Kaiba and Team Rocket were still looking for the others when something slithered over the tree branches above them. Meowth heard something above and had a bad feeling that they are not alone.

"Eeeeiiiii!" James squealed in fear when he a slithery presence behind them

"Uh, Mr. Kaiba sir?" Jessie spoke up warningly.

"What?" The brown-haired teen replied sharply.

"I think something's following us!" Jessie replied timorously.

"What is it?" Kaiba turned around and gasped.

A greenish snake woman with long shaggy avocado hair a elongated green scaly tail as a body, coiling it around the squirming Team Rocket and taking them hostage.

"Help us, Kaiba!" The intimated trio pleaded.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Perfect! This could be a problem!" Kaiba said, activating his duel disk and getting ready to battle.

In the same area, Billy and Kidd, tracking down their targets also encountered a spinosaur-like monster called Giant Rex and with streaking guileful confidence, got their duel disks ready as well.

Now each of pair in located in different areas must fight and fend for themselves against the bosses in order pass the levels and get through in one piece.


	14. Friends Reunited

**Sorry for the wait. I had a busy schedule. But here you go.**

**Sharing info: I was listening to KONGOS' Lunatic album while writing this story. I was listening to "Come with me now" while writing the part where the heroes battled the boss monsters. Great song.**

**PEACE**

The oversized bull monster warrior called the Bull-Neck Guardian stood over the tiny human boys, clutching tightly on the hilt of his sword. He snorted his nostrils, glared at them with those oval black eyes underneath its helmet, and growled threateningly in hint of a battle.

"I think he's challenging us to a duel," Ash realized.

"I think so too," Yami agreed.

"Pikachu!"

The Bull-Neck Guardian rose its sword up high above his head. Yami, Ash, and Pikachu gasped in foreboding. It slammed the blade of its sword onto the ground. Ash, Pikachu, and Yami quickly leaped sideways out of the way, avoiding the attack. Yami skidded on his fours. "Something tells me that this guy's no pushover!" He said.

Holding onto the rails of the seatings, Ash and Pikachu were determined to fight the big beast, despite them being inexperienced. "All right, if he wants to duel..." Ash clutched his Poké ball. "Then we'll give him one!"

"Pikachu!" Lightning sparks emitted from its red cheeks.

Yami activated his duel disk as well. "Give it all you got, Ash!"

* * *

At the graveyard, a bunch more zombies moaned as they rose up from the burial grounds and surrounded the girls. Tèa and May choked out frightened noises as they inched backwards with their backs hitting the headstones behind them. "There's so many of them." The younger girl said fearfully. "What should we do?'

"We got no choice!" Tèa automatically responded, thinking they should stand up against the monsters.

May read her thoughts. "We must fight back!" She recollected her courage and got out her Poké ball. "Go, Combusken!" She threw it and out came her red and yellow chicken-like Pokémon, ready for battle.

"My thoughts exactly!" Tèa said, putting in her monster card in the slot. Her Dark Witch appeared on the field, also ready to defend her owner against the zombie freaks.

"Combuskin, Flame Thrower!"

"Dark Witch, use your Magic Spell!" Their monsters set out and fought against the zombie herd to defend their masters.

Combusken torched half of the ghouls on its side while Dark Witch bewitched the other half on her side. Once it's temporally clear, it was time for the girls to make their move. "Now's our chance!" Tèa said and grabbed May's hand and started to run with their loyal monsters running along besides them. As they fled deeper into the heart of the graveyard, more zombies in different and uglier appearance rose up from the graves and tried to seize the frightened girls. Their monsters counterattacked and bopped them back into their graves. May screamed as a rotting hand grabbed her ankle from underground. Its hideous face perked up from the ground and moaned. "Combusken!" May shrieked and her Pokémon cut the zombie's arm off, setting her free.

May timidly shook the dead arm off her leg, Tèa helped her on her feet, and they proceeded running. They panted and kept on running until they spotted a church up ahead. "Inside!" Tèa shouted.

The girls and monsters entered the house of sanctuary and slammed the doors shut. Tèa placed a plywood plank across the crossbar latch to seal tight the doors. "Are we safe here?" May asked.

"Only for the time being," Tèa answered.

Combusken and Dark Witch stood close to each other in the empty aisles of the nave, bracing for the worst. "Uh, Tèa?" May spoke up.

"Yeah, May?" The older girl responded.

"We're not the first ones here," she pointed to the bema. Tèa looked behind herself.

Standing on the alter is a human-shaped nun in black. Although she appeared to be normal, her skin was greenish brown and wore blank expression on her face like a lifeless statue. "Uh, hello?" Tèa addressed her.

The nun howled ghostly and vaulted from the altar and soared high in the worship room. The girls and their monsters exclaimed in fright as they now have to fend against the unholy monster spirit.

* * *

On the ocean shore side, the flying king-sized shark monster ironically called Airhead Shark with growled and glared ferociously at the two tiny humans and roared at them in battle. "You don't scare us, Tuna Breath!" Joey retorted, rubbing his nose as if from the monster's fishy breath. "I'm gonna fry your tail!" He inserted his monster card into the slot of his activated duel disk. "Go, Flame Swordsman!" His favorite monster appeared on the field with a lit fiery sword ready for action. "Flame Swordsman, grill that overgrown salmon into well-done!"

"Joey, wait!" Brock called warningly.

But Flame Swordsman lounged and slashed the torching blade against the flying shark's gray placoid skin who roared in reaction.

"Ha ha ha! How's that?" Joey smirked.

The shark king monster just growled in provocation and ripple its gills. The scales on its body chipped loose off its skin and launched against the opposing boys. They yelled in alarm as they barely dodged the razor sharp scales. Airhead Shark swooped over them who rapidly ducked and dropped flat on the ground. The king sea monster hovered in the air and then dived into the ocean, creating a tidal wave that washed over the human boys. Flame Swordsman was also wiped out from the thrusting waters and shattered. They stood up from the deep tides, coughing and sputtering.

"That didn't work!" Joey said.

"You think?" Brock said sarcastically.

The Airhead Shark rose its head over the water, ready for round 2.

"This could be trouble!" Brock said. "We may be outclassed."

But Joey only smirked in confidence and drew out more cards. "This won't be a problem for me, 'cause I won't have to hold back!"

"Me neither!" Brock got out another Poké ball and threw it out to the field. "Go, Poké ball!"

* * *

At the rainforest area, the serpent lady circled her coils around Kaiba and leered appealingly at him, flicking her tongue. "Hi there, handssssome." She hissed seductively. "I'm Viper Vixen. You look like a tassssty treat!"

Team Rocket quivered in fear, thinking they could be her next course.

"Hmm." Kaiba stoically responded and activated his duel disk. "I don't normally fight a lady, but I can see that you're no lady."

Viper Vixen hissed in comeback and wrapped her coils around the serious duelist. Team Rocket shrieked in horror as the serpent demoness tried to squeeze the life out of the KaibaCorp president. But to her shock, she was compressing only empty air. High above, Kaiba was carried by his Material Bat. Team Rocket sighed in relief. Viper Vixen growled in anger and took another strike at the brown-haired duelist.

* * *

At the cavern tunnel, the drooling butt-ugly trolls surrounded Tristan and Max and aimed their clubs at them. "Dinner..." They growled deeply and neared closer.

Max groaned anxiously and tried to back away from the enemies. Tristan stepped in and kicked a troll in the stomach. "Max, get away from here from here while I distract them!" He ordered.

"But I want to help!" The youngster protested.

"No, you're too young!" Tristan said firmly. "They'll eat you alive!" He tossed aside a troll and threw it to the ground.

Max felt offended by his underestimation. But then his face changed when he foresaw the attack. "Tristan, behind you!" He shouted warningly. Suddenly, one troll pounced on Tristan and pinned him to the ground. Tristan grunted as he struggled to pried off the wrestling demon off him. The troll pressed down harder on him against the ground. Tristan grunted desperately as his fighting arms were giving in. Max came to the rescue when he grabbed one of the bludgeons, bopped it on the head and then bowled it away off his friend. "Still think I'm too little?" The little kid asked.

Tristan quickly got on his feet, took Max's hand, and started running. "Come on, kid!" The twosome sprinted down the tunnels with the trolls pursuing them.

* * *

At the dinosaur territory, Billy and Kidd dueled against Giant Rex as testing of their new stolen monster cards. Each pair and team bravely fended off against the area monsters with their Pokémon and Duel Monsters, (except Tristan and Max who just fled and cowardly Team Rocket just did nothing and let Kaiba do all the dueling.) After a short while, the heroes were able to turn the tables.

"Is that all you got, you overgrown beefsteak?" Ash taunted.

"Pi Pi Pikachu!"

The Bull-Neck Guardian was getting fed up and was about to strike again.

"Ash," the pharaoh hinted. It was time that they wrap this up.

"Gotcha! Grovyle, I choose you!" The black-haired boy's green wood gecko Pokémon leaped and prepared its signature Leaf Blade.

"Buster Blade, ATTACK!" Pharaoh commanded his blue and violet swordsman to attack.

Both of the mighty monsters slashed their "blades" at the bull's face, creating an "X" mark that brought him down to defeat. He keeled over backwards, thundered loudly on the floor, and shattered to pieces.

"YES! WE DID IT!" The team leaders shouted together.

"PIKACHU!"

* * *

"We have just about enough of you!" Tèa declared. "Time to take you down, you grungy old hag!" She drew out her spell card. "I use my Silver Bow and Arrow!"

"Combusken, lit up that arrow!" May pitched in.

Combusken ignited the purple and pink arrow and it launched straight at the Unholy Nun, piercing it in the heart. It shrieked demonically as the light injected within destroyed it completely.

"ALRIGHT! YES!" The girls exulted in triumph.

"Steelix, use Hyper Beam!" Brock commanded his iron snake Pokémon. It roared and unleashed a ray of orange energy against Airhead Shark from its mouth.

"Red Eyes! Fry that overgrown salmon to a crisp!" Joey shouted. His midnight black-colored dragon with glowing red eyes screeched and breathed an overwhelming ray of photons at the foe. Both of the monsters' hit directly at Airhead Shark, creating clouds of smog that shrouded the beach.

* * *

Back at the caverns, Tristan and Max were still fleeing from the mob of trolls. "Are they still chasing us?" The smallest one asked.

"You wanna stop and find out?" Tristan replied.

"No!" The boys sped up their sprinting as the trolls behind caught up to them.

Suddenly, they felt movement behind their rumbling feet. The entire cavern rumbled and began to quake. The boys nearly fell down when they felt that jolt. The rocks from the roof dropped down and hit one of the pursuing trolls. A couple more debris broke off and squashed the remaining trolls chasing the humans. But time is running out for Tristan and Max.

"What's happening?" The dark-haired kid uttered in trepidation.

"The cave's caving in!" The pointy haired teen answered. "We must hurry!"

They ran as fast as they could. They were closing in on an exit from the cave. "Look, there's the exit!" Max pointed upwards.

"Hurry!" Tristan shouted. He and the youngster sprinted as they barely made it out alive when the tunnels and portal caved in behind them. They entered the sewer tunnels, the new level area.

* * *

The snake monster lady was ensnared and trapped in her own coils like a knot.

"Yeah! You're not so cocky now, are you?" Meowth taunted.

"Perfect! Not to finish you off!" Kaiba punned. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, ATTACK!"

The silver white dragon roared and expectorated a ray of electrical energy and blew away the viper lady who screeched roaringly as she shattered into pieces.

Team Rocket shivered in both awe and intimidation as the deceased snake lady's remains piled up in ashes. "Gulp! That Blues Eyes White Dragon sure is powerful!" James exclaimed.

"I'm glad it's not me," Jessie said.

"I'm glad it's on our side!" Meowth added.

The three slumped down and rested next to each other. "No time for sleeping, you three!" Kaiba barked. "We need to get moving!" He walked ahead.

"Hey, don't leave without us!" Team Rocket scrambled to their feet and followed Kaiba.

Behind the trees, Billy and Kidd who saw the whole thing, smirked and were determined to take the powerful card deck from their target's hand.

* * *

Back at the sewers, Tristan and Max took five on the rusty floors after barely escaping the cave of chaos. "Whew! We made it, Tristan!" The youngster panted. "I don't think those trolls are gonna bother us again."

"Great, now let's go find the others." Tristan suggested. He and Max proceeded and explored the sewage tunnels.

Back at the quiet church, The girls panted and rested for a moment. "Whew! That was too intense!" Tèa gasped.

"But we did it!" May said. "We actually beat them, Tèa! Those zombies and that freaky nun are gone!"

"Yeah! We won!" Tèa agreed as she and her friend celebrated their victory and posed two peace signs.

"Girls rule, monsters drool!" May smirked in triumph.

"Even damsels in distress can fight back and take down a few ghouls!" Tèa beamed. "Look out, boys! The girls are armed!"

"Oh yeah!" The girls slapped hands of teamwork and hugged each other gleefully. Outside the painted windows, Mew looked through the glass, spotting the humans.

* * *

Back at the beach, a smog of steam caused by Steelix and Red Eyes Dragon's combined attack briefly fogged up the area after it hit directly at the target. Joey and Brock anticipated with caution to see if their opponent took the damage.

When the mist cleared up, they saw that the defeated Airhead Shark which was no more was fried baked into a crisp. It laid in the simmering beach sand, sizzling like grilled fish food.

When the boys saw they have done, they looked at each other and cracked up in joy. "ALRIGHT! WE DID IT!" They exulted together. They jumped up in triumph, proud of their accomplishment.

"End of the road for you!" Brock announced, throwing a thumbs down.

"Looks like dinner reservations to your belly have been canceled!" Joey said, pointing down to the dead fish. "We turned the tables on ya!"

"You're the man, Joey!" Brock praised his friend.

"You rock, Brock!" Joey shared the credit.

The hardheaded duo locked hands of unity and began to sing and dance in victory. "_We are number one, yeah! We just kicked some butt, yeah! We cannot be stomped, yeah! We will stomp on them, yeah! What else rhymes with yeah, yeah? I have no idea, yeah! There's nothing to say besides yeah! So we'll just end our song, yeah!_"

"And now, it's time for lunch, yeah!" Joey added that extra line as he sat down on the sand in front of the grilled shark, and rubbed his hands together as he was about to chow down.

"No time for that, Joey," Brock interposed. He pointed to a large drainage pipe hanging from the rocky wall. "Look, I found a detour! Maybe we get cut through the other side."

"Can't we wait a little longer?" Joey pouted. "Can't even get a second to taste one lousy snack!" He reluctantly got on his feet and followed his comrade.

The boys ducked their heads and crouched down into the drainage pipe, entering the interiors on the other side. Mew floated down in front of the opening and went inside after them.

* * *

Inside the sewers, Tristan and Max walked down the quiet and dark tunnels. A river of green water rushed besides them downstream. "This place is like a maze here," Tristan commented, shining the mini flashlight around. "But this time, I'm sure we'll find a way out."

"You know, my mom doesn't like it when I play in the sewers," Max shared. "Think she'll find out if I come out smelling like that?"

"I think that's the least of your problems for right now," Tristan replied.

They came across a large circle shaped portal to the main sewer hall, an open range. Tristan halted Max from stepping over the line. "Is it safe?" The youngster asked.

"I'll check to see if the coast is clear." Tristan volunteered. "You wait here, Max. I don't want you to be in danger again. I'll call you if it's clear."

Max stayed where he was while Tristan walked off to test the area. "Be careful, Tristan." He advised.

With high caution, Tristan took tiny baby steps into the open range, listening for sounds and anxiously expected the unexpected. So far, it seemed clear. Nothing in sight. Once the background check was completed, Tristan decided that the sewage hall was clear and safe. "Okay, I think it's good." He said to himself. "You can come out now, Max!"

Max shot out a breath of relief and ran through the opening hole to join his friend. "Phew! That's good to hear."

"Guys?" A familiar voice spoke up.

"AAAHHH!" Both of the boys yelled and jumped up in fright. Max jumped into Tristan's arms and jiggled timidly as they turned around. Behind them was Joey and Brock.

"Geez, guys! We thought you were one of those monsters!" Max exasperated.

"Don't ever sneak up on us like that, man!" Tristan snapped in irritation.

"Our bad?" Brock said punctually.

"Hey, nice seeing you too!" Joey retorted.

"But we are sure glad to see you!" The boys all recited at once. They laughed and danced in reunion.

"How did you guys know we were here?" Max asked.

"We didn't," Brock replied. "We just came through a pipe, heard some voices, and found you here."

"Glad to see you guys made it," Joey said. "Any sign of the others?"

"Not really, but we're hoping you did," Max said.

"Well, we'll look for 'em together," Joey said. Suddenly, his and Tristan's faces morphed into terror when they spotted something.

"What's wrong, guys?" Brock asked.

"You look like you saw a ghost." Max said. Behind the Poké boys, Mew floated down.

"L-l-look behind you!" Joey chattered warningly, pointing.

Mew teleported before Brock and Max turned around and saw nothing there. They turned their head back and looked at the older boys like they're crazy.

"There was something there!" Joey said.

Brock and Max frowned, thinking they've been eating too much virtual foods. But then they're expression changed when Mew stood between the packs. Joey and Tristan exclaimed in alarm and stumbled backward. Brock and Max gasped in wonder. "No way!" The youngest boy exclaimed.

"Nice kitty?" Tristan uttered anxiously. He and Joey have never seen a Pokémon like that before. Of course they've never even seen Mew or any other Pokémon in their dueling world until now.

"Don't move, guys! I'll get it!" Joey grabbed the nearest brick to his feet and aimed for the pink mystic Pokémon. "Say ya prayers!"

Brock and Max stopped him at once. "NO, JOEY! DON'T!"

"Eh?" Joey looked at them in confusion.

"It won't hurt us!" Max ascertained.

"Mew is our friend." Brock explained.

"Your friend?" Joey and Tristan repeated in unison.

The Poké kids went to go greet their old friend while the dueling friends stood by. Confounded, Joey let the brick drop from his hand which landed on Tristan's foot. He yelped in pain and whacked his clumsy friend on the head. Brock and Max stood in front of the floating Mew in reacquaintance. "It's great seeing you again, Mew!" Max said.

"I wonder what's it doing here," Brock thought.

"So that's thing your friend?" Joey said.

"Looks more like an anime plush toy," Tristan commented.

"Mew, Mew!" The pink Pokémon mewed. "Mew Mew Mew!"

"What's it saying?" Joey asked.

"How should I know? I don't speak Pokémon." Tristan said.

"I think it's trying to tell us something," Brock said.

"Do you by any chance know where are friends are, Mew?" Max asked the mystic Pokémon.

"Mew! Mew!" It ejaculated in response and moved up and down excitedly. Its body radiated hot pink and sparkled. The friends looked at it in suspense.

"Dude, I think you said something that got it mad!" Tristan said.

"All I said was did it know where-" Max didn't get a chance to finish because they got caught in a pink flash that took them somewhere else.

* * *

"So now what do we do?" May asked, sitting on a pew.

"Well now that those deadbeats are gone, we should continue on finding our friends," Tèa answered. "From the looks of it, we need a miracle or a sign to lead us out of this dead zone."

"Yeah, you're right." May agreed. "I just hope my brother is doing okay." Her eyes shifted up and blinked when she saw something else at the alter. It was pink, furry, and has a long tail.

"What's wrong, May?"

"Don't look now, but there's something behind you."

Tèa expressed in creep. "There is? What?"

May got off the pew and approached the bema. "Don't move. Just stand still." She inched behind the nervous frozen older girl toward the mysterious intruder.

"What? What is it?" Tèa asked nervously. "What's behind me, May?"

May jumped onto the platform and spotted Mew face-to-face. "Mew, it's you!"

"Mew?" Tèa turned around and walked up the altar.

"Tèa, this is Mew," May introduced. "Whenever we're in a jam, it always come to our aid."

"Great." Tèa folded her arms. "I suppose you can just take us to our friends?"

"Mew, Mew!" It chirped happily. It snapped its tiny paws and produced a spark of pink flash that blinded the surprised girls.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaiba and Team Rocket continued strolling down the rainforest. "Oohhhh...I'm tired being in this virtual trap!" James moaned. "I want to go back to the real world already!"

"Shut your complaining, James!" Jessie snapped irritably. "You think we don't feel the same way?"

"I just want to go back to the Pokémon world, where everything is normal and I can talk to anyone in my language." Meowth said. Above the tiring Team Rocket, a pink kitten-like Pokémon hovered over them, watching them.

"Come in, Mokuba, do you read?" Kaiba dialed his mobile phone to check on his brother. "Mokuba, do you read me? Come in over!" There was no answer. "Blast it! Stupid technology!" He grumbled and shut his mobile phone away. He is unaware that his brother and Pegasus were held captive by the other Team Rocket's Pokémon. He was then paused by Jessie startled squeal.

"Yoo-hoo! Mr. Kaiba sir!" James called behind.

"What is it now?" Kaiba replied sharply. He saw that there is a mystic pink Pokémon hovering Team Rocket who were happy to see it. "What in the-" Kaiba's eyes widened in wonder.

"Mew, Mew, Mew!"

"What is that?" Kaiba exclaimed.

"It's Mew!" James said.

"Oh great, another monster hologram!" Kaiba scoffed.

"Mew Mew Mew!"

"Mew says it knows where the others are," Meowth translated. "It says 'follow me and I'll take you to them'."

"It does?" James asked.

"Can it do that?" Jessie asked.

"Please! Do you expect me to take directions from a holographic fairy creature?" Kaiba scoffed. "Can't you see it's just a glitch?"

Team Rocket looked at him like he's mentally deranged. "But this is Mew," James pointed out. "Mew's actually friendly for a mystic rare Pokémon. It helped us many times, maybe that's why it's here!"

"You can follow that weird-looking illusion if you want, but I don't have time for this!" Kaiba walked away, but Mew floated in front of him. "Out of the way, hologram!" He tried to walk pass it but Mew would not let him leave. "Stubborn glitch!" He muttered in annoyance. "Will you just-"

"Hey, pal, Mew is not a glitch!" Meowth said scoldingly. "If it says it's gonna help, it's gonna help!"

"Just show us the way, Mew, so we can get of this madhouse!" Jessie bossily commanded the mystic Pokémon.

"Mew!" It tipped its tiny little arm and bore the foursome in a pink barrier and they all teleported.

* * *

Back at the coliseum, Ash, Yami, and Pikachu were nearly pooped after their enduring battle against the Minotaur giant. "Phew!" The Pokémon trainer sighed and sat down on the dirt. "I don't know about you, Pharaoh, but if I have to face one more virtual monster, I think I'm gonna lose it."

"Don't worry, Ash. We'll back in the real world," Yami assured. "That is, if we can find a way out of here."

"Pika." Suddenly, its long ears picked up something and detected another life nearby.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Is it another monster?" Yami asked.

"Oh great, just what we want," Ash grumbled and stood up. The team leaders awaited anxiously for another enemy.

"Whoever or whatever you, we already dealt with your friend earlier," Ash spoke up gutsily. "So go ahead and show your face!"

But to their surprise, a familiar pink kitten-like Pokémon descended in front of the friends. "Pika, Pika!"

"Mew!"

"Either it's another hologram or Mew's really here!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

Yami gazed at the mystical Pokémon closely. "Mew..." He said softly. His angled purple eyes shimmered. He felt as if he had a past connection with Mew a long time ago. "Have we met before?"

Ash and Pikachu stared at their friend in curiosity. "Uh, Pharaoh?"

"Mew, Mew!"

The pharaoh stared at the floating psychic Pokémon, recalling something in his days. "It was only a quarter of my lost memory, but I do remember you from my childhood."

"Mew?"

The pharaoh had a flashback of himself as a nine-year-old child riding on the Egyptian barge, cruising over the golden waters of the Nile River.

_**"When I was a small boy, I was riding on a barge, sailing down the Nile River." **He related._

_The young prince kneeled down on the edge, gazing at the sparkling water and spotted some fishes. He chuckled and reached his hand to the water, hoping to catch one. He leaned too close to the water, tipped over, and splashed into the water._

**"I got to close and I fell overboard."**

_The Egyptian prince swam above the surface, struggling to stay afloat. Nearby, a pod of crocodiles scented their prey and entered the waters, initiating the hunt. _

**"I was then attacked by a pack of crocodiles." **

_The prince gasped in horror and tried to paddle to shore, but the agile scaly reptiles proved to be fast swimmers than he was._ **"I thought I was done for."**

_The young pharaoh screamed and shielded himself, waiting to be crunched alive. Just before the crocodile was about to take the first bite, a pink plasma ball fired from somewhere, hitting the crocodile's mouth. It screeched in alarm as it swayed backwards in the water. All of its sharp teeth crumpled from its long gums and it became toothless. More pink plasma balls shot out and splashed into the river, warding the other crocodiles away from the prince. The water reptiles whined in fear and swam away in retreat. The young prince still floating in the water, wondered what just happened._

**"Mew came to my rescue and pulled me up from the river."**

_A pink kitty-like Pokémon soared over him and dangled its long pink tail, allowing him to take hold. The young pharaoh grabbed on and Mew lifted him out from the water and craned him to shore. The young future pharaoh looked at the mystic Pokémon and chuckled in gratitude._

_Mew cocked its pink head and took off._

_"Wait! Come back!" The nameless prince called out. But Mew was already gone from out of sight. It disappeared into the Egyptian sky. The prince stood there, wondering if he would ever see it again._

"Mew was the first Pokémon I ever saw," the pharaoh concluded. "I knew about Pokémon then as I knew about Duel Monsters."

"That figures," Ash said.

"Pika."

"Mew, Mew, Mew!" Mew bounced up and down in the air, feeling giddy.

"So tell us, Mew, what brings you to a place like this?" Yami asked the mysterious Pokémon. "If you didn't notice, things aren't going so right, right now."

"I think the virtual world is falling apart," Ash said. "We're trying to escape before it's too late."

"Mew, Mew." The pink Pokémon hinted them to come on.

"What do you think it's trying to tell us?" Ash asked.

"Pika, Pika." It sat on its partner's shoulder.

"Perhaps it wants to show us the way," Yami translated.

"Pika, Pika!"

"Then by all means." Ash said.

Just as before, Mew blindingly flash the trainer, duelists, and mouse Pokémon, transporting them to another location.

* * *

Somewhere in a new location, Ash, Pikachu, and Yami out cold on a dirt road. They stirred up and looked around. "Un...what happened?" Ash moaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Pika, Pi." Pikachu rubbed its eyes as well.

Yami groaned and examined his new surroundings. They have arrived at a town of the Old West.

They walked around the silent ghost town. Everywhere they see, there was not a soul in sight. No virtual living thing, no sign of activity, nothing except a tumbleweed bouncing on the dirt path. The only sound they heard was the creaking of a rocking chair moved by the wind. "Why did Mew take us here of all the other locations?" Ash asked.

"It's a little too quiet here, even for a ghost town," Yami said.

"If we only we got some kind of sign, anything." Ash said.

No sooner than expected, their wish was about to be granted. "Hey, guys!" A small boy's voice called.

"Ash! Yugi!" A bunch of older male voices occured.

"Huh?" The boys heard those voices and surveyed the area. They didn't find anyone until they saw a small dark-haired boy with glasses emerging from a general store.

"Max!" Yugi and Ash exclaimed.

Max laughed in joy and ran up to his friends. Following behind, Brock, Joey, and Tristan emerged from the shop door. "Hey, it's Yug and Ash!" Joey grinned.

"Brock! Tristan! Joey!" Yugi waved. The boys huddled up on the dirt road.

"You guys made it!" Brock said to his leader friends.

"We were worried that you two might not have made it after that waterfall!" Tristan said.

"We thought you were goners!" Joey said, grabbing his small spiky haired friend and gave him a noogie.

"Not Ash and Yugi!" Brock said. "They can't be rid of that easily."

"Pikachu."

"Hey, guys!" A pair of female voices hollered.

The boys looked to their right. Two brunette girls arrived

"Awesome! My sister is okay!" Max beamed. He and his sister raced toward each other and hugged each other gleefully. Tèa smiled for the reunited siblings.

"Hey, look there's also Team Rocket!" Ash pointed out to the saloon where Jessie, James, and Meowth emerged from the swinging doors, followed by a young man in a white coat.

Ash added, "and there's what's-his-name?"

"Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed.

Kaiba approached the reunited group. "Well, what do you know?" He said. "Muto and everyone else are still in one piece."

"Nice to see you too, Kaiba," Yugi said.

All the friends, except Kaiba who just stood there with arms folded, praised with excitement and jubilant as they are psyched to see each other safe. At this rate, everyone just might make it after all. Team Rocket remained by. Mew flew over the Old West town and floated above the party.

"How on Earth did you all know that we were here?" They chatted.

"We didn't."

"It's fate that brought us together."

"Let's just say an old friend led us here to you!"

"Same here!"

"Ditto!"

"Life's full of surprises huh? But at least, everybody's together again." Brock said.

"I'm so glad that everyone's alright!" May beamed, hugging Yugi tightly, much to Tèa's annoyance.

"We've lucked out this time," Brock said. "We passed all those levels."

"Not only that, but we defeated those big weirdos back there," Tristan added with ecstasy.

"You know what this means," Joey brought up, smiling.

"Victory dance time!" Tristan declared. Both of the male friends giggled giddily as they got feelings of excitement inside them, ready to burst. The friends watched them in anticipation.

Joey and Tristan danced to a victory song of their own. "_We just kicked a little can-can, kicked a little can-can, and then we make 'em run back to their mummies! Can-Can, kick a little can-can! Tell me who's the man-man! We like to kick a ton of cans!_"

Ash, Yugi, and the others chuckled in humor while comical duo continued dancing.

"What are Joey and Tristan doing?" May asked, snickering politely.

"Acting like pair of idiots," Kaiba answered.

"They're just being boys," Tèa shrugged.

"I used to be like that," Brock said, arms folded.

"Pikachu."

Max giggled and joined the fun. "_Can-can, kick a little can-can! Tell me who the man-man! We just like to kick them in the pants!"_ He sang and danced along with the big boys. "_Yeah, yeah, we totally kicked them in the can-can, all the way to Japan-pan!_"

"Great, now you got my little brother involved too," May said and palmed. Ash and Yugi chuckled while Brock shook his head in amusement.

While the trio sang their victory song, Team Rocket tiptoed away from the group in attempt to get away. Mew sensed something coming and teleported.

"_We kicked them in the caaaans!_" Max stood on the shoulders between of Joey and Tristan and they all rose their arms up high when they finished their piece.

"Duh, nice song," a male southern spoke up.

"Huh?" The party looked up and scoured the western area, trying to find out where that voice came from. Jessie, James, and Meowth who were at the steps of a saloon bar turned around and looked up. Behind them, two men dressed in cowboy uniforms, emerged from the saloon doors and stood at the porch. It is Billy and Kidd, finally meeting their targets!

"Well, howdy gang. It's great to finally meet you all." The short cowboy said. "Especially you, Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba was shocked that the new intruders in front of them knew his name.

"Who are you guys?" Ash asked.

"Where did you two come from?" Brock added.

"We are Billy and Kidd and we happened to be on a assigned mission in the name of Team Rocket." Kidd replied.

"Our motto is: we take what we find and we keep what we take!" Billy added, eying his beady turquoise eyes on the party. "That means y'all's."

"Billy and Kidd?" Max repeated.

"Team Rocket?" Tèa repeated.

"How many are those guys?" Tristan asked.

"Pikachu!" It glared fiercely at the new Pokémon thieves.

"Why are you here?" Ash addressed the outlaws.

"Wait just a second!" Jessie interrupted. "We're the real Team Rocket FYI, not you clowns!"

"Yeah, we were here first!" James added. "So take a hike!"

"You guys are losers!" Meowth exclaimed. "The Boss likes us more!"

"Duh, look who's talkin'!" Billy laughed. "It surprises me that you're still here!"

"As if you didn't notice, the Boss ain't exactly satisfied with your progress, so he hired us to take your place." Kidd informed. He glared down at his lower-rank members. "He mentioned that he was thinking about demoting you three to sanitary duty since you proved you ain't cut out for the big ranch."

Jessie, James, Meowth felt discouraged and their pride shattered to pieces. The party felt little pity for the trio.

"Hey, don't y'all act so surprise!" Billy said. "You guys ain't the sharpest toes in the bed!"

"Huh?" Jessie, James, Meowth looked at their fat rival member in queerness, like he said something funny.

The rest of the party burst out laughing while Kidd blushed in embarrassment. "It's 'sharpest TOOLS in the SHED'!" He enunciated sharply to his dimwitted partner.

"Duh, right! You know what I'm talkin' bout!" Billy said, feeling a bit silly.

"I don't care what you mean!" Kaiba snapped. "Nobody invades my company and gets away with it! Get out of this place immediately!"

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! What atrocious manners!" Kidd said. "I guess your stepfather has never taught you how to be a proper businessman."

"So now we'll have teach ya a lesson by hurting someone you love!" Billy said. He pointed to the video screen which just appeared in the virtual skies.

To the party's horror, Mokuba and Pegasus were held hostage by Team Rocket's Pokémon back at the lab.

"Seto!" The youngest Kaiba cried.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba shouted.

"Pegasus!" Yugi cried.

"Make one wrong move and they're toast!" Billy threatened.

"Poor Mokuba!" May said.

"What's your deal?" Brock asked the ruthless Team Rocket duo.

"They haven't done anything to you!" Tèa said.

"That's horribly low, even for Team Rocket to use a kid as shield for your demands!" Tristan said.

"That's right!" Joey agreed. "What kind of trainers are you?"

"One of a kind, partner," Billy answered.

"Why do you want with Kaiba?" Ash asked. "He doesn't have any Pokémon."

"Pikachu!"

"Who said we wanted Pokémon?" Kidd remarked. He drew out his duel disk from his holster and placed it on his forearm.

The gang exclaimed in shock when they saw a Pokémon trainer with a KaibaCorp gadget. Jessie, James, and Meowth appeared green-eyed.

"Duh, what do ya say we play a little game of duel?" Billy asked, putting on his duel disk as well.

"Duel disks? They got duel disks!" Ash ejaculated, eye widened.

"Since when does Team Rocket duel?" May asked.

"Pika!"

"We challenge Seto Kaiba to duel!" Billy proclaimed. "Winner claims da Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Kaiba was even more shocked that the two bifunctional intruders also wanted his rare and powerful monster cards. What did they need them for and why?

"So wait a minute!" Brock spoke up. "You're both Pokémon trainers _and_ duelists?"

"That's right," Kidd said. "We do more than just poach Pokémon. We hunt for rare cards, too."

The party were amazed by what they heard. They could not believe that the new Team Rocket members are also monster card duelists.

"That's against the rules, isn't it?" Max said. "I mean a trainer can't be a duelist too, can he? Or is it a duelist can't be a trainer? Ah! Which one?" He placed his hands in confusion.

"Heh! Why go over the rulebook now since you're the one who invaded the dueling world?" Kidd said pointedly.

"It doesn't matter, this is not the time for this." Yami Yugi stepped in. "Listen, there's something bad happening in this world and we're all in grave danger. We are trying to escape before it's too late."

Billy and Kidd looked at each other curiously and smirked. "A life-and-death battle," the pygmy man said. "Interesting."

"That makes our jobs easier! Real cowboys work best when dere's peril!" Billy said.

"First you broke into my company, took my brother hostage and now you stole my gadgets and cards?! Unforgivable!" Kaiba stepped in, pushing his allies out the way, intending to make the intruders pay.

"Kaiba, step back!" Yami Yugi warned.

Brock and Tèa blocked Kaiba in his path to prevent him from challenging the Pokémon outlaws. "Get out of my way, you fools!" The brown-haired teen demanded warningly.

"No, you don't know who you're up against!" Tèa said.

"Those guys will swipe your cards in a flash before you even have a chance!" Brock added.

"But my brother!" Kaiba protested.

"We'll help you save your brother, Kaiba," Yami said. "I'll battle Billy and Kidd for you!" He activated his duel disk.

"Better make that two," Ash stepped in bravely aside by Yami.

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped on its comrade's shoulder.

The gang looked at him with surprise. "Ash..." Yami Yugi said.

"I've had more experience with Team Rocket than you have, Pharaoh," Ash said. "You'll need my help, even this is a new type of battle, but I can't let them get away with this."

"Pikachu!" The mouse Pokémon agreed.

"The King of Games and the naive little Pokémon trainer are going to duel us," Kidd smiled. "This day just gets more and more interesting."

"Then it's winner takes all!" Billy declared.

"Uh, one little problem, Ash." Max pointed it out. "You don't have a duel disk."

Ash was struck dumb for he has forgotten that he is a Pokémon trainer, not a monster card duelist. "Oh, yeah, that's right!"

The party crashed to the floor in disappointment. "Oh, Ash!" May moaned.

"Pika!" Pikachu felt just as hopeless.

"Here Ash, you can borrow mine!" Joey threw his duel disk to the Pokémon trainer who caught it.

"Thanks, Joey!" Ash said, inserting his borrowed tool on the forearm.

"And use my deck too!" Tristan lent his deck to Ash.

"Thanks, Tristan."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Ash," Brock said. "You barely even know how to play the game."

"I'll be fine, Brock," Ash said, shuffling his deck. "Yugi has already shown me the rules. He'll guide me and give me tips, right Yugi?" He inserted the cards in the slot.

"Right," the pharaoh replied, putting his faith on the boy next to him.

"Pikachu."

"Fool, you're going lose us everything!" Kaiba said unfaithfully.

"Have faith in them, Kaiba." May consoled him. "You never know. I hope."

Kidd chuckled sinisterly. "You got persistence, little boy. I'll give you that." he said, shuffling his deck. "But this will become your biggest mistake of your life."

"Heh heh heh! This is gonna be one swell hoedown!" Billy cackled. "We're gonna put your doggies down before one turn!"

In the style of an Old Western showdown, the two pairs of duelists stood front and faced each other middle of the virtual ghost town, ready to make the first move. Their friends were moved to the porches of the Old West building to clear the dueling path. The opposing teams' life points were reset to 8000. "Let's duel!" Billy, Ash, Yami, and Kidd announced together. And the double duel was on.


	15. Duel Under The Dome-Part One

**Hey! Did you miss me? Thought I would never upload this chapter, eh? I was studying Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and I think I got the hang of it. I've never played it but I do understand how it works.**

**Enjoy and peace.**

"Duh, I'll start with Papa Bear Joe in attack mode!" Billy said in the first turn, summoning a large ferocious black male bear standing on his hind legs, ready to club his enemies with its killer paws. "And then I place this one facedown." A card laying flat on the field appeared next to Papa Bear Joe as a prepared trap card.

"And I bring out Snakes in Boots in defense mode!" Kidd declared, summoning a cowboy boot hiding three snakes in the field next to his partner's monster.

"Then I'll start with Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, along with one facedown card in the field." Yami Yugi called up his sword-welding elf to the battlefield alongside a unrevealed card just inserted.

It was Ash's turn now. "Okay, I bring out Kangaroo Champ!" A marsupial with red boxer gloves appeared on the field. "And my first move is attack the cowboy boot!"

"Wait, Ash!" Yami Yugi warned his partner.

But Kangaroo Champ had already took obedience and socked the boot full of snakes to pieces, deducting Team Rocket's life points by 400.

"Good left arm!" Meowth said.

Ash smirked in confidence. "Heh, how's that for you?"

"Actually, you did me a little favor," Kidd said cockily.

"Huh?" Ash looked at him in question.

"You see, when you destroyed my Snakes in Boots, you've triggered its effect ability," Kidd explained. "It lets me draw 3 extra cards from my deck and pick a card to use against you." He looked at his choice of new cards and smiled impishly. "And I think I'll use Sheriff's Badge!" He turned his spell card around and played it.

"It lets me confiscate 500 of your life points and send them to the graveyard."

Ash growled as his life points were already down to 7500.

"Pika!" It exclaimed in concern.

"I also get to draw a new monster, Cactus Fighter!" Kidd summoned a four-limb cactus with long pointy-sharp needles, ready to attack. "Cactus Fighter, return the favor back to Kangaroo Champ!"

The cactus mutant received its controller's command and thrusted against Ash's kangaroo monster, smiting it with its prickly "fist".

"Ah!" Ash groaned as his life points deducted to 6400.

"Ash, are you alright?" Yami asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" The dueling trainer responded in a grunt.

"This is not a good start for Ash and Yugi!" Max said. "Already they down to 6400 life points."

"Pikachu!" It is sitting at the top of a wheelbarrow.

"Sorry Pharaoh. That was dumb of me to attack on the first turn." Ash apologized.

"Don't apologize, Ash. It was your first try." Yami said understandably.

"Duh, what was that?" Billy spoke up. "You sayin' it's the twerp's first time duelin'? I forgot he's only a mere Pokémon trainer!" He laughed mockingly. "Perhaps we should go easy on him, eh Kidd?"

Kidd snickered deviously in contempt, arms folded and holding the cards in his hand. Neither he nor his dueling partner were planning on playing fair in this duel, especially when they're facing against a beginner who happened to be a just Pokémon trainer. It was going to be easy than they thought.

"Duh, I didn't think so either!" Billy chortled. "Why don't you show us what you got!"

"Grr! I'll wipe those smirks off your faces!" Ash growled.

"Be careful, Ash," Yami warned. "Don't let them provoke you."

Ash cooled down a little.

"Pika, Pika." It softly advised its friend to be careful.

"And now it's my turn!" Billy declared. "I use Beast Fangs to sharpen Papa Bear Joe's large sharp fangs!" His vicious black bear's ATK was added with 300 more, increasing to 2100. "Papa Bear Joe, attack the big-haired bucko's Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" Papa Bear Joe roared and made a strike against the pharaoh's Obnoxious Celtic Guardian.

"Not so fast!" Yami Yugi declared. "I activate my trap card, Bear Trap!" His facedown card rose up and Billy's Papa Bear Joe was caught in a bear trap that immobilized it.

"Good catch, Pharaoh!" Ash accredited.

"Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack Papa Bear Joe!" The pharaoh's elf warrior darted and swung his sword at the large black bear, terminating it.

"Alright, he got him!" Max beamed.

"Heh! That's ol' child's play!" Billy said unimpressed.

To the heroes' surprise, Team Rocket's life points were unaffected.

"Hey, what gives?" Ash ejaculated. "You should have lost any ife points!"

"Not if I have Pot of Chili!" Billy revealed his trap card he set earlier. "After taking a hit, it save my life points and preserves them. It's like you never touched me!"

Yami growled in ruffle.

"I set out Buffalo Hunter in attack mode!" Billy declared as he summoned a Native American holding a spear.

"Hmm..." Ash glared at it with caution.

"My move," Kidd stepped in. "I sacrifice my Cactus Fighter to summon Daisy Dodger in defense mode!" His Cactus Fighter dissappeared, and in its place a cowgirl dressed in a brown prairie skirt and hat appeared next onto the field, holding a lasso whip. It is at level six.

"This is just like watching a western show, with all dem cowboys and Indians and stuff," Joey said.

"Their main decks must be the Old West." Kaiba described. "It was a new type of cards my company was working on which those two crooks stole!" He glared grudgingly at dueling thieves.

"And since we're in a virtual ghost town, that gives Billy and Kidd the unfair field advantage," Tristan said. "Ash and Yugi better be careful."

"I think our friends will win this duel, no matter what!" May said faithfully. "Especially Yugi!" She eyed on the Yami Yugi admiringly. "He'll put them in their place!"

"Yeah, but this is different." Tèa put in. "Yugi is dueling against Pokémon trainers and Ash is only learning how to duel."

"Oh..." May uttered.

"Either way, I just hope our friends win so we can get out of here before anything else bad happens." Max said, dreadfully reminding everyone about the instability of the virtual world.

"Pikachu."

When it was the heroes' turn, Yami inserted another monster card in the slot. "I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode." His long-haired ogre appeared on the field, welding a large shield.

"And I'll put out Battle Warrior in attack mode!" A blue armored fighter appeared onto the field.

"Ash shouldn't just put monsters on the field," Tèa said. "He got to use spells and trap cards to protect his life points."

"And then, I'll place this one facedown," Ash said, laying his inserted card on the field. "It's a trap card, called the-"

"Idiot, do not tell about your trap cards before they activate!" Kaiba interrupted him warningly. "You'll give them ideas!"

Kidd smirked. "This is going to be cake. Daisy Dodger, round up that trap card planted in front of the boy!"

The blond cowgirl casted her long lariat and looped around the trap card Ash has placed. She yanked it up in face-up position to expose the plot. "Well, lookie here!" The pygmy Pokémon Poacher cackled. "Astral Barrier! How wishful! Too bad it won't be able to protect you now!"

Ash gasped as his trap card was discarded by Daisy's Dodger's rope, leaving him defenseless.

"I command Buffalo Hunter to attack the little tyke!" Billy declared an attack. The Native American spearman took order, gripping on his weapon, aimed at the Pokémon trainer.

"Ash, lookout!" Brock cried.

Ash gasped, frozen stiff in fear.

"Use a spell card!" Yami asserted.

"Spell card? Uh..." Ash rapidly scanned his hand. "Which one?"

"Use Block Attack!" Yami adjured urgently.

Ash hastily fumbled with the cards in his hands and dropped them to the ground. "Stop fooling around, Ash!" Kaiba shouted. "It's coming at you!"

Ash hurriedly bent down to pick up the cards and find the suggested card. Billy's charging spearman was closing in. Yami feared Ash may not be able to halt Buffalo Hunter in time. "Big Shield Gardna, protect Ash!" He initially commanded.

"Got it!" Ash found finally the Block Attack card. But then he saw that he was too late. Buffalo Hunter was about to thrust his spear against his life points. Ash cried in alarm and shielded himself with his arms.

THRONG!

Big Shield Gardna stepped in front of Ash just in time, taking the hit from Buffalo Hunter's spear, sparing his life points.

The friends breathed sighs of relief. "Pharaoh protected Ash!" Tèa said.

"That was too close!" Brock said.

"Thanks, Pharaoh!" Ash gratified.

"It's alright, Ash." Yami said. "But you got to be more vigilant, Ash. I may not be able to protect you next time."

"Right," Ash glared at the snickering duo. "I won't make that mistake again." He then flipped his present monster card horizontal in the slot. "I switch Battle Warrior in defense mode!"

* * *

Meanwhile back at the lab, Mokuba and Pegasus were still held captive by Billy and Kidd's Pokémon. "I don't know about you, Mokuba, but being around with these Pokémon is starting to make me grow less fond of them," the Duel Monsters creator said.

"I'm worried, Pegasus." Mokuba said, swinging his legs on the office chair. "If those two goons has already got my brother, overran him, and took his Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

"Don't say such things!" Pegasus said. "I'm sure your big brother can take of himself. Our friends probably already took care of them. Don't forget Yugi-Boy is there with them. He is a pretty strong duelist." Billy's Manetric glared at him in close guard. "Plus the Pokémon trainers are there too, and I'll bet you that they'll have no problem helping taking down Team Rocket together."

"That may be so, but those goons are both Pokémon trainers and duelists. With the combination of their powerful decks and Pokémon and stuff, they do look unstoppable." Mokuba felt insecure in his seat with Machamp watching over him. Manetric is over keeping its sharp canine eyes on its small prisoner. He looked at the virtual dome and thought with prayer. "Ash, Yugi, Seto, if you can hear me please be careful and get out of there soon."

Pegasus expressed in worry and hoped deeply for the heroes' victory. With the company staff still out of commission caused by Team Rocket's Pokémon and the virtual world running out of time, they will need more than a miracle to save the hostages and heroes.

* * *

"Y'all folks better beware!" Billy declared. "And now I activate my facedown card, the Lighting Latrine!" Billy declared as a classic wooden outhouse appeared on the field next to his Buffalo Hunter and Daisy Dodger.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"It's a field card, my friend," Billy explained. "With this card in play, our cowboys each gains 400 defense points in each turn." His Buffalo Hunter and Daisy Dodger's attack and defense points increased up to 2900 and 3000.

"Whoa, it is me or did Billy and Kidd's monsters just get tougher?" Tristan said.

"That doesn't seem fair." Max said.

"Ash and Yugi are going to need more than stronger monsters to take out those power-hungry goons." Brock said.

"Okay..." Ash selected his next target. "Battle Warrior, attack one of their monsters!"

"Ash, don't!" Yami blurted out warningly.

But when Battle Warrior hit Daisy Dodger, it only did minimum damage on the cowgirl warrior's defense points.

"It didn't work?" Ash gasped in shock.

"Didn't you noticed? Battle Warrior's attack points are much lower than Daisy's defense points!" Kidd pointed out. "Do the math!"

"But I know one thing that will certainly be enough to eliminate your monster!" Billy stepped in. "Buffalo Hunter, wallop Battle Warrior!"

The Buffalo Hunter jabbed its spear against Ash's blue soldier, terminating it from the field.

"No!" Ash groaned as his shared life points shrank down to 5400.

"Ash just lost 1000 more life points!" Max declared.

"This is bad!" Brock said.

"Pika!"

"You can't penetrate our defenses!" Kidd said. "You're outclassed!"

"Alright, fine. I'll just have to find another way around to your life points!" Yami said, selecting a card. "I tribute Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and Big Shield Gardna to summon Dark Magician!" His two monsters disappeared from the field and in its place, a human sorcerer in a purple bodysuit appeared, carrying a long staff.

"So the Dark Magician decided to make his appearance," Kidd said. "This should be interesting."

"Let me guess; you gonna use him to cast his Dark Magic Attack on us," Billy surmised. "That's just too predicable!"

"Perhaps, but I have something else in mind," the pharaoh replied.

"OH?" Billy and Kidd looked at him in so-called interest.

"You do?" Ash looked at his friend in particularity.

"I'll play Mystic Box," Yami inserted his spell card into the slot and a magic box appeared in the field. "Dark Magician, get into the box!" His favorite monster jumped into the mystic box.

"The pharaoh's magician just went into the magic box!" Max said.

"What's that supposed to be, a magic show?" Billy asked sarcastically. "Buffalo Hunter, attack the Mystic Box with the Dark Magician inside!"

"No, Billy!" Kidd shouted warningly.

But the spear carrying Indian already took order and rushed forward to the locked-up Magician. Kidd gasped in trepidation, feared for their defense of their life points. Yami smirked in gratification.

"Pharoah! Look out!" Ash cried, thinking the Dark Magician is in danger. "Gotta think of something fast!" He quickly picked up a spell card to free his ally's Dark Magician. "I use Bail, to free the Dark Magician!"

"No, Ash!" Yami ejaculated in warning, trying to stop his partner.

But it was too late. Ash place the quick spell card into the slot. Immediately taking effect, the Mystic Box disintegrated and disappeared, leaving the Dark Magician exposed. The Buffalo Hunter speared the pharaoh's favorite monster, sending it to the graveyard.

"NO!" Yami bellowed.

"OH NO!" The friends cried.

"There's goes your famous Dark Magician," Kidd smirked, feeling thankful for the trainer's faulty judgement.

The heroes' life points went down to 3300 in result.

"Uh...What just happened?" Ash inquired in confusion.

Yami glared at Ash directly in the face. "Ash, do you realize what you just did?" He growled through his gritted teeth.

"B-B-But I thought I was doing the right thing!" Ash stuttered. "Buffalo Hunter was gling to attack your Dark Magician still trapped inside the box."

"That was was plan!" The pharaoh hissed. "I was going entrap Buffalo Hunter and have the Dark Magician switch places so I can get to our enemies' life points! You just ruined it by playing Bail! You let my Dark Magician take the hit from the enemy and sent him to the graveyard! You just cost us 2100 life points!"

"Oops!" Ash muttered sheepishly. A sweat drop appeared next to his forehead.

"ASH!" Yami yowled in frustration and held his hands on his tricolored head.

Almost everyone exclaimed in dismay and inclined in their seats. "Pikachu!" It slapped its paw on its yellow head, just as embarrassed. Kaiba groaned and shook his head in disgust. Billy and Kidd laughed and mocked at that little incident.

"That little twerp just messed up the big-haired twerp's strategy," Jessie said from observance.

"He practically sent his Dark Whatever-Guy to the graveyard," James added.

"How embarrassing!" Meowth said.

"Thanks kid, I owe you one!" Billy cackled.

"This was a bad idea," Kaiba put in. "That Ketchum kid is just making Muto look like a complete fool! He'll be the downfall of this duel!"

"Hush up, Kaiba! This duel isn't over yet!" May urged him.

"Yeah, Ash is only trying." Joey added. "Give it some time."

"Of course, Ash and Yugi are down to 3300 life points and Billy and Kidd are in the lead," Tristan pointed out. "And their defense points just keep on increasing."

"Tristan, you're not helping," May said.

"Pika."

"Duh, hey, can I say somethin' here?" Billy spoke up. "This duel ain't turning out what we wanted. We were hoping for a challenge but this turns out to be all-lamer game!" He set his beady eyes on young trainer. "If that young shaver ain't got what it takes to participate in a cowboy and Indian war, then he should stay in the Poké ranch where he belongs."

"What does he mean, Yugi?" Ash asked his dueling partner.

"He means you ain't cut out for this game, little boy," Kidd answered bluntly for him. "It's because you don't got any passion for both Pokémon and Duel Monsters. If you can't handle the duel disk, you might as well stick to your little Poké balls and stand clear of the real duelists."

Ash felt stung by Kidd's words.

"Burn!" Joey muttered.

Yami turned to his dueling partner. "Not to be selling you out, Ash but they may be right. Maybe Duel Monsters isn't for you. You are a Pokémon trainer after all."

"Let me takeover, Ash!" Joey volunteered. "I can take care of those creeps for ya!"

"Sit down, you underdog!" Kaiba barked his blond rival. "Like you can make this any better!" He intended on taking Ash's place. Joey glared at him resentfully.

But Ash disagreed and stood firm. "I can't back down now! If I said I'm going to duel, I'm going to duel, whether you want me to or not!" He gripped the cards tight in his hand. "I won't let those guys disparage me!"

"Ash, I appreciated your help, but this is beyond your experience." Yami persuaded. "I don't think you're ready for them."

"I'll get better! Please let me duel!" Ash refused to give up the duel disk. "I can show them!"

"Ash is being stubborn!" Tèa said.

"That is so like him, always playing the hero!" May said.

"Pika!"

"Ash, please! You're no match for them!" Yami pleaded. "You must step down for your own good..."

_"Let him stay, Pharaoh!"_ Yugi's spirit stepped in. _"Ash can do this. I know he can."_

_"But Yugi, he's only a Pokémon trainer. Ash doesn't know anything about dueling."_

_"Give him another chance! Rome wasn't built in a day you know. Remember when I first started dueling and you guided me along?"_

Yami gazed at his spirited friend. "Yugi..."

_"Have faith in him, Pharaoh. If Ash can win Pokémon battles, he can break through in this duel."_

_"You may be right, Yugi."_ Yami believed and decided to put more faith in the boy. "Alright Ash, you can stay. Give it your all."

"Right, I won't let you down, Pharaoh!" Ash replied contentedly. _"Thank you, Yugi."_ He mentally thanked Yugi's spirit from the Millennium Puzzle for believing in him. He had a feeling that it was him who convinced his soul-sharing partner to let him duel, despite not linked to the mystical pyramid-shaped pendant.

"Yugi decided to let Ash stay." Tèa said.

"Fool! He's going to lose them the duel!" Kaiba said.

"Intrepid decision!" Billy said.

"Dropping out of the tag-team duel would have been an automatic lose anyway," Kidd said robustly.

Ash and Yami glared at their opponents. Something tells them that they don't play fair.

"Make y'all move!" Billy dared. "That is if you have the guts!"

"Don't forget, as long as the Lighting Latrine is still on the field, all our monsters will keep protectin' us and our life points are impenetrable!" Kidd said as Daisy Dodger and Buffalo Hunter still have nearly 3000 DEF points.

Yami grinned bluffly. "Where there's a will, there's a way! Right, Ash?"

"That's right!" Ash agreed. "We don't get discourage that easily!" Their opponents just scoffed in reply.

"I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode!" Yami placed his female warrior onto the field.

"Ha! Your poker prom queen ain't gonna be enough to break down our strong walls!" Billy guffawed. "Or have you forgotten about the Latrine on the field?"

"Come on, guys! You gotta do better than that!" Brock said.

"Please, Ash! Help Yugi!" May pleaded. "He can't do this alone!"

"Just think of it as just another Pokémon match, Ash!" Max encouraged.

"Believe in the heart of the cards!" Joey added.

At that moment, Joey and Max's words hit Ash like a ton of bricks. "That's it!" He thought. "This is just like a Pokémon match!" He closed his eyes and placed his trust in his deck. "Heart of the cards, guide me..." With deep hope, he anxiously drew a freshly new card from the slot and looked at his drawn card and beamed in rhapsody. "Yes!"

Yami noticed. "Ash?"

"Alright, I get to play Wattsquirrel in attack mode!" He zealously inserted his monster card in the slot and a red, blue, and gold-colored squirrel with electrostatic fur made its first appearance on the field, chittering.

"Hey, isn't that the card Yugi gave him?" Max pointed it out.

"That is, but why would Ash play that one on the field?" Tristan wondered. "It's looks kind of outclassed."

"Maybe he's got something up his sleeve," May said hopefully.

"Let's hope so." Joey added.

"Pikachu."

"Ash, I don't think this is a good idea to let Wattsquirrel in the field just yet." Yami apprised.

"Don't worry about it, Pharaoh, this time I know what I'm doing." Ash ensured. "Trust me."

"Alright, I trust you." Yami accepted.

"I then place these two cards on the field and end my turn," Ash planted two more facedown cards between Wattsquirrel. "I'm ready."

"You seemed anxious to lose this duel, not that I blame you," Kidd said. "I guess the best thing to do is spare y'all the agony of humiliating defeat."

Ash leered at his opponents coolly. "Hit me with your best shot." The two opposing duelists smirked.

"What is Ash doing?" Tèa exclaimed. "Is he going to just let his Wattsquirrel get creamed by those Western weirdos?"

"Pika!"

"Buffalo Hunter, Daisy Dodger get ready to strike that twerp's electric rodent!" Billy commanded. Team Rocket's monster's switched to battle position.

"Heh heh!" Ash grinned in boldness. "I play my trap card, Zero Gravity!" He pulled up his revealed card. It caused the all monsters on Team Rocket's field to switch into defense mode. "Gotcha!"

"Oh, please!" Kidd scoffed. "All you did was switch our monsters in defense position!"

"That don't mean nothing!" Billy added.

"I'm just getting started!" Ash said. "I get to use my face-up card, Wattcube." He displayed a cube of electrical volts. "And I equip it with Wattsquirrel, giving it 1000 attack points." Wattsquirrel's ATK increased to 1700.

"Did you learn nothing?" Kidd chastised. "Your monster is still too weak against one of our monsters alone!"

"It'll take more than just a puny little squirrel to even chaw out a smidgen of our life points!" Billy added. He and his partner chuckled devilishly.

Ash chuckled wilily. "Who said I was going for your life points?" He gave a cocky eye. "I got you right where I want you."

"Huh?" Billy and Kidd's smirks faded and looked at him in queer.

"Ash?" Yami studied him closely.

"Wattsquirrel, aim for that Lighting Latrine!" Ash ordered his controlled monster. Wattsquirrel chittered and set its beady cobalt eyes on the field card, the source of Team Rocket's fortress. "Now zap it!" Ash shouted.

Wattsquirrel discharged a wave of sparks from its blue ears and bushy tail and directly hit the Lighting Latrine. As a result, the electricity traveled through ground circuits linked to the field card's and power-upped Team Rocket's cowboy monsters. Their ATK and DEF shot up rapidly and out of controls. "Look at Billy and Kidd's monsters!" Joey said.

"Duh hey, what's going on?" Billy exclaimed.

Eventually, the Lighting Latrine overloaded and shattered to pieces. Buffalo Hunter and Daisy Dodger's reached up to 9999 points until they reached the peak and exploded to pieces. The friends gasped in wonder. "Pika!"

Kidd gasped in shock. "Wha-what did you just do?" He addressed strongly to Ash.

"Simple, I figure since the Lighting Latrine gives your monsters unfair boosts of defenses, it would impossible to reach your life points." Ash explained. "In order to eliminate the source of the problem, I use Zero Gravity to switch your monsters to defense mode, leaving your Lighting Latrine vulnerable. Thanks to Wattsquirrel's effect ability to overload your Latrine with ground electricity that cause your monsters to burn out and collapse."

"No! This can't be!" Billy and Kidd expressed at the awfulness as they are now defenseless to an imminent attack.

"Oh and I did I mention that Wattsquirrel can attack twice in battle?" His confident smile built up. "With your guarding monsters out of the way, your life points are wide open!"

Billy and Kidd stood petrified, having no trap cards planted because they didn't expect this to happen.

"Now's our chance, Pharaoh! Let's do this!"

"Good job, Ash!" Yami grinned. "Now Queen's Knight-"

"Attack Billy and Kidd's life points!" The heroes in unison declared their attack.

Wattsquirrel zapped its white electrical discharge from its ears at Kidd who hollered in agony while Queen's Knight dashed and slashed Billy across the flabby body. Team Rocket groaned in agony as their life points went down to 4200.

The friends cheered for their friends. "Alright!"

"Way to go, Ash!" Brock whooped.

"Great job!" Tèa rejoiced.

"That's my Yugi!" May leaped in jubilance.

"I knew Ash could turn this duel around!" Max said.

"Sweet move, Ash!" Tristan praised.

"Now you're dueling!" Joey said grinning.

"Pikachu!"

Kaiba stared in surprise at Ash's sudden turnaround. Jessie, James, and Meowth were also astonished.

"Good strategy, Ash." Yami accredited his dueling partner. "Great idea using Wattsquirrel's effect ability to thwart Team Rocket's plan!"

"Thanks, Pharaoh!" Ash responded.

"Duh, he got us real good, Kidd!" Billy said. "Maybe we underestimated this kid!"

"Shut up, Billy!" Kidd snapped. "That was a lucky break, kid. But you're still just a Pokémon trainer, you'll never keep this up!"

"I don't think so. Why don't you make your move?" Ash chuckled confidently.

Kidd glared and hissed in annoyance. "You better wipe that cocky smirk off your face, kid!" He drew another card from the slot. "We ain't began square-dancing yet!" He looked at his drawn card, smirked, and placed the drawn card facedown. "Okay, Bill. Your turn."

"Duh, right!" Billy scanned his cards. "I play Pot of Greed. It allows me to draw two more cards from my deck." He looked at his freshly added hand. "Hello." He smirked in contempt. "I summon Firebird Chief in defense mode!" A red muscular Native American chief with a "flaming" headdress appeared on the field with bulging arms folded.

"And then I play Call of the Moon to call upon his tribe!" Four Native American warrior appeared in front of their leader. "_One_ _little_, _two_ _little_, _three_ _little_ _Indians_! Four Indian tokens will guard their chief and take any blow you'll give any."

"Ha! Your Native desert men won't stop me!" Ash retorted. "Wattsquirrel, attack one of those tokens!" Wattsquirrel took order and discharged volts from its ears, demolishing one of token Indians. The second time, Wattsquirrel zapped another of the Indian tokens. "You're down to two tokens!" Ash said. "Soon your Firebird Chief will be exposed!"

"Heh!" Billy scoffed, not too worried.

"My move," Yami stepped in. "I sacrifice Queen Knight to summon an old friend, Dark Magician Girl!" Out from a magical flash after Queen's Knight departure, a blond sorceress wearing similar magician clothing emerged to the battlefield, welding a magic wand.

"Dark Magician Girl," Ash memorized.

"And since her teacher sitting at the graveyard, she gains 500 attack points." Yami added as his second favorite monster increased to 2500.

"So what else is new?" Billy said.

"And now, Dark Magician Girl, attack Kidd's life points directly!"

Dark Magician Girl took aim and fired her magic spell at the Team Rocket dwarf. When it was a direct hit, their life points shrank down to 1700.

The friends were ecstatic that their friends are winning. "Awesome! Billy and Kidd's life points are almost down to zero!" Joey said excitedly.

"At this rate, Yugi and Ash will be able to win this duel in no time!" Tristan smiled.

"Pika Pi Pika!" It jumped up and down in cheer.

Kaiba just watched with silence, unmoved by the heroes' led on. He knew that it would be too soon to celebrate their victory.

"You know, this is getting to be fun. I could keep dueling forever." Ash said. "Too bad we have to wait 'til our next turn." He folded his arms.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of it, Ash," Yami said, smiling. "You're dueling like a real pro."

Ash chuckled modestly as he is starting to feel like a pro. "I learn from the best."

Billy and Kidd scowled and growled quietly. They looked at each other for a moment and their scowls flipped upside down and started chortling. Ash and Yami's confident smiles faded and looked at their foes in puzzlement. The party also stared at the laughing duo like they've gone crazy. "Is there something amusing going on there?" Yami asked.

"We'd like to hear a joke," Ash said.

Kidd choked back his laughter and scratched his nose. "Sorry but I must say, we really misjudged y'all! You're better than I thought! I'd never expected that we'd be awed by an astonishing combination of the King of Games and the Pokémon Master!"

"You two make a doggone mean team!" Billy recommended. "Unfortunately, neither of y'all ain't prepared for the upcoming worst!"

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

"I activate my trap card, Luck of the Gunslinger!" Kidd pulled up his facedown card. "It's one of my favorites!" He smirked deviously. "I flip a coin. If it's heads, I get to send one of your monsters to the graveyard, if it's tails, we get to pick a monster from our graveyard." He took out a silver coin and tossed it up in the air. Ash, Yami, the other Team Rocket underneath the ranch, and the party watched with suspense as the silver dollar whooshed in the air. It finally landed on the ground...the duelists looked at it...it was heads!

"Heh heh! Bye bye Wattsquirrel!" Kidd selected the target.

Ash's effect monster was sent to the graveyard by Kidd's command. "Oh no!" He groaned as his shared life points went down to 3200.

"Poor Wattsquirrel," May said.

"Your little lightning rat can't save you now!" Billy chortled.

"Are you alright, Ash?" Yami asked.

"I'm fine!" Ash grunted.

"Pika!" It cried out in concern.

"Oh, did I mention that we gain additional 500 life points?" Kidd added one more detail. Their shared life points were totaled to 2200.

"Aw man!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Those guys got some serious cards!" May said.

"And now it's my turn," Billy stepped in. "I switch my Firebird Chief to attack mode!" His Native American chief monster unfolded his arms and clenched his fists in battle. "Since he's a fire monster, I equip him with Burning Spear!" Billy inserted another spell card into the slot. "It gives him 400 attack points!" Firebird Chief's attack points increased to 2500. "Firebird Chief, aim for that Dark Magician Girl!"

The Firebird Chief pointed his Burning Spear at the pharaoh's monster and hurled it directly at her.

"Oh no! Lookout!" Tèa shouted.

"I activate my trap card, Magical Hats!" Yami pulled up his facedown card. Dark Magician Girl was concealed in a tall black hat and four of them shuffled and switched. The Burning Spear hit an empty hat, missing the Dark Magician Girl.

"You missed!" Yami pointed out. "Dark Magician Girl is hidden in one of those hats and you get one shot to find which hand she is hiding."

"That's smart!" Ash said.

"That may be so, but sooner or later, your gal friend will have to come out!" Billy said.

"And we can find out which hat your Dark Magician Girl is hiding and we will," Kidd said darkly. He held two cards in his other hand and placed them both in the slot. "We have our ways." He snickered sinisterly.

Ash and Yugi looked at their opponents with caution for they both realized that defeating them will be a tad bit difficult than they thought.


	16. Duel Under The Dome-Part Two

In the virtual skies, Mew soared through the three-dimensional nimbus clouds. It sky blue eyes scoped the virtual lands from high above, checking out the status. It then notice blackish gray cumulonimbus heading that way. "Mew?" It curiously looked closer. It saw familiar canine silhouettes appearing in the thunderous black nimbus. "Mew." It shuddered as it had a bad feeling that Cerberus' powers are growing stronger and time is running out in this virtual world and for our heroes...

* * *

Meanwhile, Bakura carried on his quest at the Pokémon World, carrying the Ball of the Underworld inside the pockets of his gray sweatshirt. With a hood over his white hair, he stepped into a Pokémon street fair where it was packed with trainers and Pokémon. From left to right, he observed various venders selling Pokémon franchises, souvenirs, and snacks while the attendees purchasing tokens wherever they set their eyes on. He also spotted some young children (with Pokémon shaped balloons) watching performers on streets and Pokémon doing tricks. His sharp sepia eyes leered rapaciously from the shade of his hood as he estimated the population in this area. _Ah, what a populous world of Pokémon. So many souls to collect, so many slaves to control..._ He thought wickedly as he moved along.

He was then stopped by a familiar voice addressing him. "Psst! Hey, you! Boy! Come over here!"

Bakura turned to his left. Standing behind a fish vender stand was a middle-agen man in a fish merchant outfit. (It was the very same Magikarp salesman who regularily cons James out his money.) "Come closer." He invited. Bakura got closer.

"Take a good look at this Pokémon." The salesman pointed to the red fish Pokémon wading in the water tank. "Have you ever seen a healthier and shinier Pokémon like this?" Bakura stared at the salesman expressionless.

"Let me tell you a secret;" The sneaky salesman leaned closer. "This Magikarp here is no ordinary Pokémon. It's a magic Pokémon that will bring wealth beyond your wildest dreams. You see it lays diamond eggs, gold coins, jewels, cash even! With this treasure-laying machine in your pocket, you won't have a care in the world! You will be rich, famous, and powerful! If you buy it now, you will save up to five hundred dollars, because you will have it already!"

Bakura glared at him coldly, not buying it at all. "What kind of fool do you take me for?" He snapped in a scary voice. "I know what you're really are." His Millennium Ring jingled.

"Eh?" The con artist looked up innocently.

"You're nothing but a lying, greedy, lowlife scumbag who cons people out of their possessions!" His mouth twisted into a sick grin. "Just the kind of soul I'm looking for..." He took out the Ball of the Underground from his pocket which glowed eerily, along with the Millennium Ring. His hood removed from his snowy head, bangs arching up menacingly that sent a chill down to the con artist's spine.

"I got a better deal for you," the evil spirit chuckled. "How about you give me your soul instead..."

"Eweeee...YAAH!" The con artist whimpered and yelped loudly in horror. The street fair was so packed and loud, nobody noticed the commotion behind the fish vender stand.

The Millennium Ring stopped glowing as Yami Bakura has sealed the con-artist's soul inside the Underworld Ball. "Yes...your dishonest soul will nourish wonderfully for Cerberus' soul!" He chuckled sinisterly, lobbing the Ball in his hand, and walked away. The con artist's soulless body (with swirly eyes) dipped into the tank water head-on where the unsold Magikarp was still swimming in.

At Dynamo City, May's rival Harley was standing at a large Pokémon contest hall where the another event was supposed to begin. He scanned the arriving crowd coming through the entrance doors, searching for his usual rival. "Hmm...I wonder where could that May be?" He thought to himself. "You would expect someone to show up here like always, and they have the nerve not to." He looked surprised and steamed. "How dare they!"

Suddenly, someone bumped into him, nearly knocking him down. "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, you klutz?" Harley snapped.

The person that bumped into him was none other than Ryou Bakura. "Hmmm..." He growled.

"You're kind of a weird one, aren't you?" Harley looked at him oddly.

Bakura lifted his head up and looked at the purple-haired teen with a sinister glare. Harley felt creeped out. "Hey, what's up with you?"

Suddenly, Bakura grabbed the surprised competing Pokémon coordinator by the back collar and dragged him behind the contest hall where nobody could see them. He threw him against to the dumpster where Harley's back banged on the green metallic side. "Hey, what the heck is your problem?" Harley demanded.

Bakura chuckled eerily as he held out the Ball of the Underworld from his pocket. "You've got a lot of spunk in you, sissy boy. How would you like a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm?" His Millennium Ring glowed bright yellow.

Harley whimpered fearfully. "Whoa, man! That's kind of freaky!" He backed away nervously. "What are you-" He didn't get a chance to finish when a shadowy force overcame him.

The audience applauded inside the Pokémon hall as the contest was about to begin. "Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for our first contestant, Harley!" Lilian Meridian the announcer placarded. The audience applauded again, awaiting the first competitor.

But Harley made no appearance. "Um...please put your hands together for Harley!" She tried again.

Still no Harley. "Okay, now. Where is Harley?" Lilian muttered in wonder.

Harley was unable to attend due to condition at the hands of the demonic thief spirit. His soulless body laid inclined against the green dumpster wall. Chuckling malevolently, Dark Bakura held Harley's Poké ball in his hand. "Nothing personally, Harley, but I'm going to need to borrow your Pokémon for special reason." Satisfied with his dirty work, Dark Bakura left the ally and moved out of the metropolitan area.

From place-to-place, Bakura challenged each trainer he encountered, including Morrison, Drew, and A.J. Not only did he overpowered them in a Shadow Game, but he took theirs souls and possession of their favorite Pokémon as prizes. Through the Millennium Ring, he also took control of wild Pokémon in his wake, having them doing evil deeds for him while he proceds.

"That's it, Pokémon! Follow me, we have work to do," his lips curled into a smile. "Soon, the whole world will be devoured in darkness..."

* * *

Somewhere in the shadows, Shadi felt the disturbance far away from the Pokémon side. "As I fear," he spoke up. "Cerberus' power continues to grow strong. He is being fueled with souls of the innocence and those in his path."

He stepped out of the shades of bookshelves of the library of KaibaCorp. "I must get to dome on the top before it's too late. The nameless pharoah and the young Pokémon traveller are the only ones who can stop Cerberus." He then spotted some guards who are still under a trance by Billy's Haunter.

* * *

Back at the duel in the ghost town, things were becoming intense. "I'll sacrifice Bad Ugly Todd to summon Pinto Menace onto field!" Billy paid a normal tribute to summon a stronger monster onto the field. A white horse with brown spots wearing an ivory mask over its long face bounded onto the battlefield. It stood on its hind legs and neighed a battle cry. It was a level seven monster with 2,500 attack points and 1500 defense points.

"Ew, I sure wouldn't want to ride that pony!" Commented James.

"The minute it was summoned to the field, Pinto Menace's effect ability brings in a dreadful dusty storm that shrouds the battle field and conceals our monsters in the thick dust bowl!" Billy explained.

A dust barrier filled up dueling field, making it very difficult to see. "Hey, what gives?" Joey spoke up. "Why there's a dust storm in the field?"

"We can't even see the monsters." Max said.

"Pikachu."

"But how will you be able to see where your monsters are?" Ash asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Billy said. "I use Horse Whisperer!" He drew a magic card with a picture of a ghost horse emitting a white smoke of air. He inserted into the slot and his Pinto Menace became visible in the dust cloud.

"There you are! I command Pinto Menace to attack the Dark Magician Girl!" Billy set his eyes at the pharaoh's exposed female magician.

Billy and Kidd got the Dark Magician Girl to emerge from one of the Magical Hats she was hiding by using Railroad of Distress to trap Ash's Batteryman 9-Volt to lure her out, otherwise he will face the consequences on the next turn. Despite Ash's warnings, the pharaoh had no choice put to cancel the hiding spell card and reveal his Dark Magician Girl.

"Pharaoh, look out!" Ash warned.

"Not so fast!" Yami stepped in. "I play Swords of Revealing Light!" He activated another spell card in the slot. Immediately, multiple radiant swords shot out from his duel disk and surrounding Billy and Kidd's monsters.

"For three whole turns, you won't be able to declare an attack for three whole turns!" Yami informed.

"Awesome!" Said Ash.

"Tsk! Your little night lights ain't gonna stop us!" Billy said, cool as a cucumber. "We have a monster that can snipe our way through!"

"I inserted Silver Bullet Token!" Kidd inserted his spell card into the slot. "My Notorious Vigilant will have unlimited supply of ammo!" His human cowboy in a violet poncho and hat cocked his loaded shotgun in preparation for target practice. "It can attack any monsters it wants."

"I summon four Sheep Tokens onto the field using Scapegoat!" Ash brought four colored ram-like copies, surrounding Batteryman 9-Volt. "I place this one facedown and end my turn. So take your best shot!"

"Alright, Notorious Vigilant use those tainted lamb chops as target practice!" The Notorious Vigilant aimed his long shotgun at one of the Sheep Token, pulled the trigger, and discharged a shotgun shell from the hole. It zoomed across the field at lightning speed and directly hit a Sheep Token, shattering to pieces. Ash grunted as he remained strong.

Then Notorious Vigilant fired one bullet after another, eliminating the remaining sheep tokens. The Batteryman 9-Volt is now defenseless.

"Your bags of wool are toast!" Kidd said. "Your life points are wide open! Notorious Vigilant, fired at the enemies just like before!"

His gunfighter received obedience and fired out more Silver Bullet Tokens, homing in on the heroes' monsters. Yami gasped.

"Wanna bet?" Ash retorted. "I reveal my trap card, Dried Winds!" A sweltering gale occurred from the planted card and pulled into the Silver Bullet Tokens, flinging them back and Notorious Vigilant was terminated by his own attack!

Kidd yelled in surprise. "Duh no!" Billy shouted as his life points dropped to 1000.

"Good move, Ash!" Yami accredited.

"That's what I called 'shooting the breeze'," Ash punned. "Your Bullet Tokens backfired!"

Kidd growled in aggravation, but then morphed his face into a cool smirk, eyes closed. "Very cute move kid. I'm almost impressed."

Ash and Yami glared at their opponents with smugs.

"Don't y'all get overconfident now!" Billy stepped in. "This duel's far from done!"

* * *

Back at the laboratory, Mokuba was sitting on the office chair with his arms wrapped around his legs and his chin up to his knees, in heavy thought. "Mokie Boy," Pegasus spoke up to him. "I can't help but notice that you've been quiet as a mouse for a while. I understand that you're scared."

"Hmm? I'm sorry," the younger Kaiba snapped out of it. "I'm just wondering; has Seto found Ash, Yugi, and the others? Did those crooks caught him before he could find them?"

"Well, why don't we go and check up on them?" Pegasus suggested sarcastically. "Oh wait, that would be difficult with those Pokémon breathing down our necks."

Mokuba did a quick check on the Pokémon which weren't looking at the moment. Machamp was too busy flexing its four muscles while Manetric patrolled around the lab and check on the other hostages. "Maybe we can do a quick peek..." Quietly, he rolled the office chair toward to the computer panel to take a peek at the video screen. To his surprise, he saw Yami Yugi and Ash dueling against Billy and Kidd. "No way!" He exclaimed softly.

"What do you see, Mokie Boy?" Pegasus asked.

"Ash and Yugi are dueling against Team Rocket!"

"What?" Pegasus scurried over to the boy's side. He glimpsed at the video screen. "Well, what do you know? This is unusual. A Pokémon trainer against a pair of duelists."

"I hope Ash and Yugi will win." Mokuba said.

"I hope so too or we're screwed," Pegasus added.

* * *

So far Ash and Yami are 3200 life points ahead while Billy and Kidd are down to 1000.

"Alright, Ash and Yug are in the lead!" Joey said.

"It looks like they got this in the bag," Tristan said.

"They're gonna win, right?" Max said.

"Of course they're gonna win, Max!" May held on to her brother. "My Yugi always!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed, also indicating that his best pal is the winner too.

"Let's hope so," Téa said.

Kaiba and Brock continued to watch the duel in silence.

"Alright, it's my move!" Yami stepped in. "I summon Berfomet in attack mode!" His beastly monster with wings appeared on the field, roaring. "Then I invite Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts to the field!" Another beastly monster arrived next to Berfomet.

"And now I use Polymeization..." Yami held out his fusion spell card. "To fuse my monsters together to form...Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast!"

Gazelle and Berfomet combine themselves together to form into a massive two-headed lion with powerful wings.

"Whoa, now that's a beast!" Max said.

"Scary!" May said, shuddering.

"Are you going use that to take them down, Pharaoh?" Ash asked.

"Of course I will, Ash." Yami replied. "One strike from Chimera and the duel's done."

"Cool!" Ash said.

Yami glanced sternly at his opponent. "Chimera, attack the Pinto Menace and end this duel!"

Half the crowd cheered as their friends were about to win this duel. Chimera leaped from the opposite side and soared over to Billy's phantom horse.

"HA! I activate my trap card, Potato Crop Failure!"

"What's that?"

"It reduces a monster's attack strength if it's over 2000," Billy explained. "So Chimera will only do 200 worth of damage!" (Their life points reduced to 800.)

The friends exclaimed in disappointment.

"Darn it!" Yami muttered. "Should have seen that coming."

"We should have known this would be too easy." Ash said.

"Don't worry, guys! You're still in the lead!" Joey said.

"The first rule is: never leave a showdown 'til it's over." Kidd advised as he pulled out a spell card. "I play Gold Rush. It lets me throw away my hand and dig through my deck until I find whatever cards I need." He tossed his old hand to the graveyard and drew out several more cards until he's satisfied of what he found.

"Heh, perfect." He smiled. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Daisy Dodger!" He resurrected his lasso cowgirl onto the field. "Now, I summon another monster, Rabid Jackalope!" An anthropomorphic rabbit with long pointy antlers sticking from his long hat and in western clothing and welding pistols. It's at level 4 and has 800 ATK and 400 DEF.

"Don't forget, you can't attack us for three whole turns," Ash reminded. "So you won't be able to use your new monsters against us!"

"I know. I'm just being prepared!" Kidd said. "I'll play Dead Man Walking! I'll send Firebird Chief to the graveyard for now." He looked at his partner who nodded his head in consent. Billy's Firebird Chief shattered, taking a "dirt nap".

Ash and Yami gaped at what they saw.

"Kidd just sent his partner's monster to the graveyard!" Joey said.

"I also send my Rabid Jackalope to the graveyard!" Kidd dismissed his rabbit monster as well.

"Kidd sent his own rabbit to the graveyard too!" Tristan added.

"Why would he do that?" Max asked.

"And lastly, Daisy Dodger goes to the graveyard as well!" Kidd sent his last monster.

"Now he sent his last monster to the graveyard!" Tristan said. "They're pratically defenseless!"

Kaiba studied the Pokémon duelists suspiciously. "Something's wrong. Why would they just throw they throw their monsters away?"

"Maybe Kidd's desperate," Téa guessed. "He's scared that he and Billy will lose!"

"Yeah!" Max agreed.

"Or maybe Kidd's got something planned," Kaiba said.

"I'm with Kaiba on this," Brock said. "I'm no dueling expert, but if you deliberately send your own monsters to the graveyard, shouldn't anything happen, like a ritual?"

"That's true," Téa said. "Now I'm worried."

"Could you guys be more paranoid?" Tristan said.

"Just shut up and watch the duel!" Joey said.

"I place this one facedown and end my turn," Kidd concluded his phase.

"Alright then, it's my go!" Ash stepped up.

"Ash, be careful," Yami warned. "I have a feeling Kidd has something planned."

"Don't worry, Pharaoh, I got this," Ash said confidently. "I'm going to win us this duel and make these guys sorry they've met us!" He was about to declare an attack. "You should have kept your monsters in play, 'cause here I come!"

"Ash, wait a minute!"

Kidd's eyes arched as if he has awaited for that cue. "Now I can activate my trap card...Wagon Trail Siege!" The trap card displayed a chain of wagon trains set ablaze.

"Wagon Trail Siege?" The party repeated.

"It helps us special summon a monster from our graveyard," Kidd explained.

"And since we sacrificed two cowboy monsters and one Indian warrior," Billy added. "We can summon...Rogue Ranger, the Avenger!"

Their newly summon monster looked like a humanoid cowboy all dressed up in black with a red bandanna scarfing half his face. He was also holding a powerful shotgun with three barrels. It is at level 10 with 3,000 attack and 2800 defense points.

"That's why Kidd sent his own monsters to the graveyard," Tristan said. "To summon a stronger monster."

"At least it won't be able to attack as long as the Swords of Revealing Light is in play," Joey said.

"Guess again," Kaiba said.

"Oh, and did I mention that Wagon Trail Siege temporarily allows our monsters to slip through the Revealing Lights and attack your monsters?" Kidd added one more thing.

"What?" Ash and Yami ejaculated all together.

To the everyone's shock, one of the radiant binding sowrds faded and Rogue Ranger and Pinto Menace charged from terminal portal and they shot and clomped Chimera and Batteryman 9-Volt before returning to their bases. As a result, Ash and the pharaoh's life points decreased down to 200.

"No, that was my last monster!" Ash cried.

"My Chimera!" Yami holleted.

"Did you see that?" Joey said in wonder.

"Billy and Kidd's monsters just took a chunk out of Ash and Yug's life points!" Tristan bolted.

"All that's left is the Dark Magician Girl!" Max said.

"One more attack and they're done for!" Téa added.

"As y'all should be aware, the the Swords of Revealing Light are about to expire on the last turn," Kidd pointed out as the radiant blades were fading. "Soon, our monsters will be able to attack again."

"Meanwhile, I put this card facedown and end our turn," Billy added, inserting another facedown on the field.

"This duel is becoming intense," Jessie said.

"If either team loses, think we could grab dibs on their cards?" James asked.

"Who cares about that?" Meowth said, looking crafty. "Look, while everybody is distracted, now's our chance to grab Pikachu!" He pointed to their target who was sitting on the edge of a wheelbarrow, watching the duel.

"Yeah!" Jessie and James agreed.

"Wobbuffet!"

"This is bad!" Brock said.

"Billy and Kidd's monsters are way too powerful!" May said.

"Foolish morons!" Kaiba spoke out in hopelessness. "I told them that they don't stand a ghost of a chance!"

With the gang was so absorbed in the duel that none of them noticed Team Rocket crawling on the ground behind them, aiming for Pikachu.

_This is really bad_, Ash thought, fearing deeply. _I don't have any monsters left to protect our life points! But we can't give up, Pegasus and Mokuba are counting on us!_

"It looks like those crooks got Ash and Yugi on the ropes," Mokuba said, from behind the screen. "Come on, guys, don't give up!"

"Are you alright, Ash?" Yami checked on his partner.

Ash swallowed hard and wiped the rims of his mouth on his shoulder. "I'm fine." His dueling hand trembled. "If they attack after the Lights disappear, we're in big trouble."

"I know."Yami turned attention to the opponents and thought._ I have faced many impossible foes, but these guys are too much!_ Yami thought. _It's like they've been toying with us the whole time, learning our weakness. _Pressured sweat rolled down his face side.

"Duh, what's the matter, guys? Y'all look like you're standing in a sinkin' wagon!" Billy taunted.

"We understand that you're feeling under a lot of pressure," Kidd added. "Don't worry, it's only natural, especially when y'all about to lose."

"Don't count on that!" Ash grunted, on his feet. "It's not over until it is over!"

"That's right!" Yami growled. "No matter how hopeless it looks, we'll keeping fighting to our very last card!"

Billy and Kidd smirked in amusement. They simply enjoyed watching their opponents squirm.

Ash scanned his hand and was about to try a card when Yami stopped him. "Wait, Ash."

"Huh?"

"I don't think you should play that card just yet," Yami informed seriously. "It might not work."

"How do you know?" Ash asked.

"I just know, Ash. Trust me."

"But I got try it." Ash insisted. "Otherwise, if we don't use everything we got, we'll lose the duel!"

"Yes, but if we make another mistake, we'll lose everything!" Yami argued. "Just trust me on this."

"But this is my duel too!" Ash returned sharply. "You can't just hog the turn, _Pharaoh_!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to help, Ash!" Yami retorted.

"No you don't! You just want the glory to yourself, Mr. Big Shot!" Ash rebutted.

The party gasped at what they just heard.

"I don't need you to keep babying me! I know the rules!" Ash snapped.

"I play Duel Monsters more than you! That's why I'm called the King of Games!"

"Then why are we at 200 life points?" Ash retorted.

Yami scowled. "I don't see you coming up with a plan!"

"Like you do!"

The friends watched horrified as their leaders who were supposed to be a dueling team go at each other's throats, bickering who should and what not.

"What are Ash and Yugi doing?" Joey spat out in disbelief.

"They should be dueling against Billy and Kidd, not each other!" Tristan added.

Kaiba shook his head in dispair. "This was a bad idea. Like with cats and dogs, Ketchum and Muto just can't cooperate without setting off sparks!"

"I bet that was part of Team Rocket's strategy," Téa said. "Billy and Kidd got Ash and Yugi cornered that our friends turned on each other!"

At her words, Billy and Kidd snickered as if they planned this all along.

"Those guys play dirty!" May said, glaring at the enemies.

"Hey, guys! You need to chill out!" Brock shouted warningly. "If you don't, Billy and Kidd will walk over you!"

"Pika, Pika." Pikachu felt so worried for its friends, it could not sit here any longer. Behind it, Jessie was about to pounce the unsuspecting yellow Pokémon with her grabby dark hands.

"This time you're mine, Pikachu!" She grinned sinisterly.

"Pika!" It felt that it had to do something and get over there. It jumped off the wheelbarrow before Jessie could swipe it. She missed and she toppled facedown in the granite bowl of brown muck.

"Dang it!" She exclaimed in frustration, her face masked in mud. "Why do opportunities like these always jump from our grasps?" James and Meowth groaned in disappointment and disgust.

"Wobbuffet!"

Pikachu quickly scatted across the dirt road, toward to the duel in progress. "Pikachu, get back here!" Max called.

Pikachu joined the disputing heroes' dueling side and hopped between them. "PIKA!"

Ash and Yami stopped bickering and gawked at it with surprise. "Pikachu?" The young trainer uttered.

"Pikachu?" The pharaoh repeated.

"Huh?" Billy and Kidd blinked with puzzlement.

The party gaped in surprise. Mokuba and Pegasus gawked through the camera screen.

"Pika, Pika!"

"Pikachu, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Pika, Pika!" It hopped onto its trainer's shoulders. It leaned on Ash's shoulders and sniffed at the duel disk.

"What's it doing?" Joey asked.

Billy and Kidd scoped over there, wondering what their opponents are up to.

It turned back to its trainer and tried to communicate with him. "Pika, Pika! Pika-Chu!"

Ash and Yami stared at the yapping Pokémon, trying to understand it.

"Pika, Pika!"

"What's gotten into Pikachu?" May asked.

"Maybe it's lost it," Tristan said. "Pikachu's afraid that Ash and Yugi will lose the duel, it's probably hinting them to give up."

Joey glared at his negative friend. "Would it kill ya to to be positive for once, man?"

"Pika, Pika!"

"Pikachu, I'm in the middle of the duel," Ash said. "Whatever it is, can it wait?"

"Hold on, Ash," the pharaoh spoke up. "I think Pikachu may want to lend a paw."

"Huh?"

"Pika!" It nodded.

"You want to help me win this duel, Pikachu? Is that it?" Ash asked its partner.

"Pika! Pika!" It nodded and scanned the cards in the boy's hand. "Chu!" It pointed to the card it set its eyes on.

Ash picked it up and read it. "Exchange."

"Exchange allows each player to select any card from their opponent's hand and trade their own cards their opponent selects," Yami explained.

Ash looked at his Pokémon in puzzlement. "You want me to play Exchange, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu," it affirmed.

"HA HA HA HA! You're gonna take dueling advice from a mouse Pokémon?" Kidd laughed loudly. "You must be pathetically desperate!"

"I thought we were having a duel-down, not a pet show!" Billy cachinnated so hard, tears emitted from his eyes.

"But why Exchange, Pikachu?" Ash inquired, ignoring their opponents. "How's that going to help us?"

"Pika Pika."

"It's saying 'trust me' Ash,'" Yami translated.

_"Pikachu may have a plan," Yugi added._

Ash didn't felt too sure.

"You do trust your Pokémon, right Ash?" Yami asked.

"With my very own life." Like Yugi trusts the Pharaoh, Ash trusts Pikachu with all his heart.

"Then let's what happens."

Ash nodded anxiously. "Okay, Pikachu. I trust you." He turned back to the game. "I use Exchange!" He declared, raising his suggested spell card. "We each get to pick a card from each other's hand!"

"Pika!"

"Ash is using Exchange out of Pikachu's advice." Mokuba said from observance.

"No way!" Pegasus exclaimed. "That's something you don't see everyday!"

Billy and Kidd looked at each other in weirdness and realized that they must go along with the Exchange. The opposing teams left their dueling spots for a minute and approached each other closely so they can trade cards. The party watched with anxiety as their friends had to pick the right cards. Ash stood in front of Kidd while Yami and Billy took positions toward each other.

"Alright, twerp, I'll play along," the short man said gelidly. (He is a little smaller than Ash.) "But don't think that you're out of the barrel just yet."

"Hmm!" Ash glared down at him.

"Pika." It glared at Kidd too.

"Choose wisely," Billy advised.

Each duelist held their row of cards towards another to select their pick.

"Hmm..." Ash scanned the cards in Kidd's hand.

"Pika, Pika." It pointed to a card to the right.

Yami looked carefully at his opponent's cards. "I'll be taking this one," the pharaoh decided, selecting a card.

"And I'll take this," Ash said, choosing his card as well.

"Fine, let's just get this duel underway," Kidd said.

"Heh, with this card I chosen, it'll be your downfall," Billy said cockily.

"You'll get your turn soon enough." Yami returned.

Once the Exchange was complete' the tag-teamed duelists returned to their bases to continue the duel. "Okay, now what?" Ash asked.

"Pika Pi." It guided its friends through the phase.

"I wonder what card Ash picked?" Max thought out loud.

"I just hope it'll help," Téa said.

"I hope Ash and Yugi don't start arguing again," Brock said.

"I use Card Destruction!" Yami declared as he presented a spell card. "We each must discard our entire hand and draw six more cards!"

"Gee thanks! The cards in our hands were useless anyway!" Kidd smirked, rowing his fresh new cards. Ash and Pikachu glared at their opponents suspiciously.

"Enough stallin' around!" Billy said. "Now it's our turn!" He looked at his cards in his hands and he and partner chortled obtrusively in intrigue.

"Oh man, I don't like how they're snickering," Joey spoke up gravely.

"Ash and Yug better beware," Tristan added.

"Well, boys, I must say it's been nice playin'," Billy said craftily. "But I'm afraid this duel's done!" Holding between his fingers is a green card of a small Native American girl holding a bouquet of blue flowers.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"I play Gift of the Bluebonnets," Billy said as he activated the card. The Native American girl holding an armful of bluebonnets appeared on the field.

"What is it for?" Ash asked.

"Pika."

"Fusion Summon!" Yami realized.

"Aw, man! That's doesn't look good!" Tristan uttered in trepidation.

"Why? What's going to happen?" May asked.

"The worst," Kaiba answered seriously.

The friends gasped in worry.

"Prepare to witness the arrival of a true cowboy! You ready, Kidd?"

"Ready when you are, Bill! We fuse Rogue Ranger and Pinto Menace to summon...

The bluebonnet girl threw her bouquet up in the air and the Rogue Ranger and Pinto Menace disappeared in a sparkling flash.

Everybody, Ash, Yami, Jessie, James, and Meowth, and Pegasus and Mokuba watched the transformation with wonder and anticipation.

The fusion summon was complete. In the removed monsters' place us a bigger and more stout cowboy in dark clothing with a long cape and wearing a red bandanna. He was also riding on his mustang that looked like the Pinto Menace except it was dyed dark red and has black mane and tail.

"Ladies and germs, we give you Ranger Rider, the Rogue Menace!" Billy and Kidd announced. The fusion rider's horse stood on its hind legs and neighed a battle cry. Its level is at 11 and its ATK is 4000 and DEF is 3800!

The party gawked at it in awe. "Whoa, man!" Brock said.

"Ooh! Now that's a cowboy!" James said.

"It looks unstoppable!" Meowth said.

"That could wipe the twerps out!" Jessie said.

"Dark Magician Girl is too weak to counterattack against that thing!" Kaiba said. "She'll be wiped out! And if that happens, Ash and Yugi will lose the duel and the god cards!"

"Not to mention our Pokémon!" Max added.

"To make matters worse, the three turns are up!" Tristan said. "The Swords of Revealing Lights have burned out, giving that freaky outlaw a chance to attack!"

"Ash and Yugi are sitting ducks!" Téa said.

The binding swords faded away, the Ranger Rider is ready to move! He cocked his cannon rifle and pointed to the heroes' side of the field, in attack position.

"What do we do now?" Ash asked his partner, feeling a tiny bit of panic inside.

"We have to think fast!" Yami said.

"Pika!"

"There ain't nothing you can do to stop our monster," Kidd put in coolly. "You will now know never to cross the path of Team Rocket, especially Billy and Kidd, happens to be Pokémon trainers _and _duelists!"

Our heroes expressed in fear and anger as they are possibly about to lose the duel!

"Now then Ranger Rider, eradicate Dark Magician and all of the twerps' life points!" Billy declared.

"Say good-bye to all your life points and your rare cards and Pokémon. It's all over." Kidd said, turquoise eyes glinting in triumph.

Yami and Ash stood frozen in terror, wide open for a finishing attack. "Pika!" Pikachu held tightly on to its partner's shoulder.

Ranger Rider locked on targets on the Dark Magician Girl, Ash and Yugi's life points and fired a shower of multiple bullets from his triple barrels and the missiles flew directly at the defenseless heroes.

"ASH! YUGI! LOOKOUT!" The friends screamed.

"PIKA!"

Ash and Yami yelled soundlessly as the star missiles was closing in on them...

**Cliffhanger!**

**But don't worry, I'll write another chapter very soon.**

**PEACE**


	17. Duel under the Dome-Part Three

**To Guest: You'll be mighty surprised! It's even better ;)**

"Ranger Rider, eradicate the Dark Magician Girl and the rest of the twerps' life points!" Billy commanded.

"Say good-bye to all your life points and your monsters. It's all over. You lose and we win." Kidd said, turquoise eyes glinting in triumph.

Lone Star Ranger pointed his triple silver pistols at his opponents, locking on its targets, and fired three bullets directly at the defenseless heroes.

Ash and Yami gasped in peril as the most devastating attack was closing in.

The righteous duo looked at each other, nodded, and sealed their eyes shut as they are about to try the unthinkable.

"PIKACHU!"

BANG! BOOM! BANG! The bullet missiles hit their targets.

"ASH! YUGI!" The friends screamed in horror.

Pegasus and Mokuba exclaimed in awe.

The impact created an smog of dust particle that enveloped the heroes' side of the field, filling the air with suspense.

"Oh no, Ash!" Brock blurted out.

"Yugi!" Joey gritted his teeth.

Téa and May covered their mouths in dismay. Tristan held on to Max, shielding the youngster's eyes from the intensive scene. Kaiba choked out in dread, thinking his archrival has been defeated and his chance of reclaiming the crown were taken away from him.

"Oh my!" Jessie, James, and Meowth exclaimed in unison.

Billy and Kidd chortled obtrusively as they are confident that the duel is over.

"Did they get them?" Mokuba asked softly.

Pegasus kept a close eye on the screen. "Wait a sec..."

"Aah!" Kaiba gasped.

"What?!" Billy and Kidd's eyes widened with shock.

When the dust cloud cleared up, the Dark Magician Girl was still alive and Ash and Yugi's last 200 life points were unaffected. Next to her was a new monster, a small furry monster with eyes and claws.

"NO WAY!" Kaiba exclaimed.

Ash and Yugi have somehow survived the level-11 ordeal! They panted lightly as they were still shaken from the blast, but they smiled and chuckled for they are still in the game!

"Look, Mokuba!" Pegasus pointed to the screen. "Our intrepid heroes are still standing!"

"They're okay!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Impossible! There's no way we could have missed!" Kidd managed to choke out. "That should have been an overkill!"

"Well, you better recheck your calculations because we still have all our life points," Yami remarked. "Which means the duel is still on."

"But that ain't fair! How in Bart's name did y'all survive that blast? Tell us!" Billy demanded, unable to shake the denial.

Ash smiled smugly and scratched his nose. "It was your card that saved us!"

The party looked up with puzzlement. "I don't understand!" Kidd said.

Ash pulled up a planted trap card to explain all. (It displayed an anthropomorphic rodent in a hat and shirt sitting on a enormous pile of junk.) "Pack Rat." He announced. "It was the card that I picked from your hand, remember Kidd?" He then had a flashback of him and Kidd switching cards.

"I didn't know it at first, but when I played Exchange like Pikachu suggested, we had to pick one card from our hands. When I saw Pack Rat, I didn't know what it does until I saw the description."

"Pack Rat allows us to collect the discarded cards from our graveyard and use them as barricades for your attack, even the most powerful ones," Ash concluded. "Pretty handy card. "If it weren't for Pikachu, we would have lost!" He said as he petted his Pokémon in gratitude.

"Pika, Pika!"

"I was pretty amazed too," Yami said. "It looks like you two aren't the only ones who knew how the cards work."

The party praised with joy and were incredibly ecstatic that their friends survived and gave them hope. Jessie, James, and Meowth were enthralled by the performance. Even Kaiba couldn't believe his eyes. "Awesome! Ash and Yug outsmarted those goons!" Joey grinned.

"All because of Pikachu." Téa added.

"They've lucked out this time," Kaiba said.

"My heart and stomach were about to do a turnover," Tristan said.

"Billy and Kidd don't look too happy," Max said.

Indeed, Billy and Kidd were extremely furious. "You dirty rats! How dare you cheat us out of our victory!" The large blond man growled.

"Using a Pokémon in a duel is against the rules!" Kidd snarled.

"Look who's talking about rules!" Yami returned smoothly. "You two broke into KaibaCorp, stole a pack of cards from a storage room and took Mokuba and Pegasus hostages as demands for Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon. You were willing to overcome us by using dirty tricks and unfair spell cards."

Billy just scoffed. "Duh, so what if we are? You got a problem with that, King of Goody-Goody?"

"Team Rocket will not be trample by a pair of meddling kids!" Kidd added. "You got lucky this time, but time has ran out for you!"

Yami shook his head. "I feel sorry for you two."

"Yeah? And why's that?" Billy asked.

"It seems that you two are blind from the truth." The pharaoh explained. "Duel Monsters are not tools that you can control and make them do whatever you want. They're real creatures with real feelings living inside cards, waiting to summoned and played with, not to be thrown and wasted like paper bombs."

"That's right!" Ash said in agreement. "Real duelists fight with honor!"

"Pikachu!"

"Inspiring speech, partner," Kidd remarked sarcastically. "Did you write that by yourself?"

"Y'all do things yer way, and we do things in our business!" Billy said.

"Hmm!" The dueling team leered at their opponents and were determined to finish this duel.

"Pika!"

* * *

"Come on, guys!" Mokuba cheered. "Crush those goons and put 'em in their place!"

"How long can they hold this out?" Pegasus said. "The virtual world is going to give out soon."

Their prison keepers, Machamp and Manetric approached behind them in a threatening way.

"Can it, you oversized beanie babies!" Pegasus barked at them. "We're watching our friends duel and they are going to save us!"

The Pokémon backed away.

* * *

"Ranger Rider, attack his Dark Magician Girl one more time and this time do not miss!" Billy roared.

The dark Rogue Menace fired out his triplet missiles once more, attempting to hit the sexy sorceress.

"Not again!" Brock said.

"Not so fast! I summon Kuriboh!" Yami declared. In front of Dark Magician Girl, a brown furry creature with round large eyes and claws. "And play Multiply!"

With a quick play of the spell card, the small little hairy monster duplicated into million copies. Instead of hitting Dark Magician Girl, the bullet missiles blew up the Kuriboh army, saving the heroes' life points.

"Hey, what!" Billy spat out.

"Sorry, but your bullet missiles will have to get through my Kuriboh to our life points!" Yami said as more and more Kuribohs keep multiplying.

Billy and Kidd growled in frustration.

"Those Kuriboh thingies are taking the blow!" Brock observed.

"They're all so adorable!" May said admirably.

"Who knew that tiny little fuzzballs would be useful against a devastating row of missiles?" Max said.

"If y'all think that your little hairball army are going to stop us, you're sadly mistaken!" Kidd said. "Eventually, we get through!"

"We're not too worried about that!" Yami said as he drew out a spell card. "I use De-Fusion to return your Ranger Rider back in two!"

With the effect of the spell card, the dangerous cowboy split into two individuals. Rogue Ranger and Pinto Menace were restored as they were before.

"So what? Fusion Monster or not, our monsters are still strong enough to crush yours!" Kidd said.

"I place this one facedown and end my turn," Yami declared.

"My turn, I use Monster Reborn to bring back Wattsquirrel" Ash played a spell card in the slot and his electric squirrel came back on the field from the graveyard.

"Not that silly squirrel again!" Kidd mocked. "Didn't we exterminate that little rodent a while ago?"

"I'm not finished yet. I also place this one facedown and end my turn," Ash concluded.

"Fine then, and I summon Dust Devil onto the field and rid all the irritating dustbunnies shielding your Dark Magician Girl!" Kidd said, placing a dust devil-like monster onto the field and vacuumed every Kuriboh clone clean, leaving the pharaoh's magician girl defenseless.

"Aha! You've just triggered my trap card, Dark Renewal!" Yami surprised. "Now that you summon a monster onto the field, I send your Dust Devil and my Dark Magician Girl to the graveyard to special summon an old friend..." At the sound of his instructions, both Dark Magician Girl and Dust Devil on Kidd's disappeared and a new monster in purple emerged from the magical light. "...Dark Magician!"

"Awesome! Dark Magician is back!" Max said.

"Not that old geezer again!" Billy scoffed. "Don't you ever grow tired of using that thing?"

"My Dark Magician never fails me and I never grow tired of him," the Pharaoh replied.

Dark Magician wagged his finger.

Kidd hissed in annoyance. "Now yer startin' to get on our nerves!"

"Just give it up already!" Billy added, also growing impatient. "You're down to 200 life points and we still got our more puissant monsters to put y'all varmints out of misery!"

"As an old western saying goes; 'never bow down to the enemy, not until you find his weak spot," Yami replied with calm and wisdom. "And I figured out a way to turn this duel around!"

"Huh?" Billy and Kidd studied him in question.

"That right!" Ash stepped in, holding two cards. He looked at his partner in consult and both of them nodded, thinking this is it. "But first, we're gonna perform a magic trick!"

"Pika!"

"First I play Booster Cheese and equip Wattsquirrel with 800 attack points and defense to match up Dark Magician's." Ash described as his electric squirrel grew stronger, next to the Pharaoh's spellcaster.

"And then I play this:" Ash switched the other spell card in his hand for everyone to see. "Magician's Little Faithful!" The spell card displayed a picture of an elder magician accompanied by a familiar spirit.

"What does it do?" Mokuba asked.

"It allows our Wattsquirrel and Dark Magician to combine themselves and fused into one monster from our extra deck!" Ash explained as the heroes' monsters, Wattsquirrel and Dark Magician came together and bonded in a plasmatic flash. Everyone, including Team Rocket shielded their eyes from blinding lights as a fusion summoning was taking place.

Wattsquirrel and Dark Magician were gone. In their place, an anthropomorphic rodent dressed in purple wizard's clothes and wearing a pointy hat. It is at level eight and carries 2700 attack points and 2100 DEF.

"Everyone, meet Wizard Mouse!" Ash introduced their new spellcaster.

"Pikachu!"

The party were awed at what they saw. "Awesome! Wattsquirrel and Dark Magician fused into Wizard Mouse!" Joey exulted.

"Amazing!" Brock said.

"It's so cute!" May said.

"It looks powerful!" Téa said.

"Tsk! Don't make us laugh!" Kidd scoffed. "Your fairy tale rodent ain't gonna be enough to save you and it still ain't a match for our monsters!"

"We'll see about that," Yami replied confidently.

"I play Horn of the Unicorn and equip Pinto Menace with 700 ATK and DEF points!" Billy declared as his fiendish horse gained 3,200 and 2,200 points.

"We'll gonna wipe that smug off your face once and for all!" Kidd clenched his fist. He and his partner are extremely desperate to defeat their foes and were not taking any chances. "Rogue Ranger, attack that Wizard Mouse and end this duel!"

"Pinto Menace, spear that rodent like a shish kabob!" Billy ordered his monster to attack as well.

Rogue Ranger reloaded his triple cannon shotgun once and aimed carefully at Wattsquirrel and Pinto Menace charged directly at the Wizard Mouse.

"No you don't!" Ash smirked. "You activated Wizard Mouse's special ability!"

The mouse mage wriggled its nose and whiskers and casted an immobilizing spell that froze Pinto Menace and Rogue Ranger in their tracks. Billy and Kidd gasped in horror.

"Whenever a opponent declares an attack, Wizard Mouse stops them in their tracks with his binding spell!" Ash said.

"Pika!"

"You little-! Just wait until next turn!" Kidd snarled, feeling a tad bit scared. He drew a fresh new card from the duel disk slot and groaned in letdown when he found it to be useless.

Billy frantically searched his hand to find anything to protect their monsters. "No! There ain't nothing left to save our monsters!" He gritted his teeth.

"Looks like you're out of luck." Ash smirked. "You spent all of your good cards in the first turns, trying to erase all our life points in vain. But we saved our best and powerful monster for last." He then turned to his partner. "Pharaoh, would you like to do the honors?"

"It will be my pleasure," Yami beamed. "I play Magical Flute! It destroys all the equip and trap cards on the field, including the trap card that Ash planted and the Horn of the Unicorn." He explained as Wizard Mouse played a few notes, terminating all the active cards in play.

"Big deal! What's your point?" Kidd asked. (A bead of sweat of sweat appeared next to his forehead.

"With every card on the field removed, Wizard Mouse gains 500 attack points each!" Yami claimed as Wizard Mouse attack strength increased up to over 4000!

"That's enough to erase your monsters and your life points!" Ash added.

"And without any trap cards to protect you, your life points are as good as gone! Game over for you, Team Rocket!" Yami added.

"OH NO!" Billy and Kidd shouted in horror.

"Oh yes! Your card-snatching days are about to come to an end!" The pharaoh said.

"You're in big trouble now!" Ash smirked.

"Pikachu!"

"No! This can't be happenin'!" Kidd bolted in terror. "It ain't supposed to happen!"

Billy whimpered and stood petrified, vulnerable to an immediate finish.

"Oh, it's happening alright!" Yami returned. "Ready to claim victory, Ash?"

"Ready when you are, Pharaoh!"

Together with serious faces, the heroes declared one final attack. "Wizard Mouse, use Magic Orb Attack!"

The small enchanted mammal squeaked and produced a bright blue aura ball in its paws, it enlarged into a super potent plasma blast that eliminated both Pinto Menace and Rogue Ranger!

Billy and Kidd yelled hopelessly as their life points zipped down to zero! Team Rocket has been defeated and the heroes have won!

"ALRIGHT! WE DID IT!" Ash screamed and jumped in the air.

"We are victorious!" Yami declared triumphantly.

"Pikachu!"

The friends praised with overwhelming joy and celebrated exultantly for their leaders. "YEEEEEAAAAHHHH!" Joey hollered.

"YOU DID IT!" Téa screamed.

"WAY TO GOOOOOO!" Brock shouted at the top of his lungs.

"AWESOME!" Tristan shouted like he was at the stadium.

"WHOOHOO!" Max whooped.

"I knew you guys could do it!" May said blissfully.

"They did it, they actually did it!" Jessie uttered out in amazement.

"The twerps won!" James said.

"Unbelievable!" Meowth said.

Kaiba let out a light smug as he is pleased that his rival and the Pokémon trainer have overcame the dangerous enemies.

Mokuba and Pegasus smiled and chuckled as they are going to be rescued soon. The Pokémon, Machamp and Manetric were extremely shocked that their masters have lost. Nearby, Shadi appeared in the shadows of the equipment, observing the scene.

* * *

The victorious duo slapped hands of achievement. "We did it, Pharaoh!" Ash said. "We won!"

"You were amazing, Ash!" Yami beamed. "Great job!"

"Nah, it was you who won us the duel, Yugi!" Ash beamed. "You're the best!"

"No, _you_ are the best!" Yami shared the credit and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Nah, you are!"

"You are!"

"Pikachu."

"Okay, okay, you two are both the best!" Tristan put in as he and the others went to congratulate their leaders.

"Good dueling guys!" Brock said.

"You guys are awesome!" Max grinned.

"We're so proud of you!" Téa smiled.

"To be honest, I didn't think you guys were going to pull this off!" Joey said.

"My hero!" May hugged Yugi tightly, much to Téa's annoyance.

"As much as I hate to admit, but you're not too bad yourself, Ketchum," Kaiba addressed the young Pokémon trainer. "For a trainer from another world, you're almost as good as me and Muto."

"Thanks, Kaiba," Ash said.

"Pika."

"This ain't over, fools!" Kidd interrupted.

The party looked over there and eyed on the pertinacious duo. "What are you talking about? Of course, it's over!" Joey said. "Ash and Yug kicked your butts!"

"So pack y'all tools and git out of town!" Tristan added.

"Leave my company right now or else face the consequences!" Kaiba threatened.

But the conniving cowboy duo only sniggered deviously as they weren't giving up. "Duh, we don't think so!" Billy said. "Win or lose, we're still taking what we want!"

The party could not believe what they heard. "These guys don't know when to quit!" Téa said.

"Hand over the Blue Eyes White Dragon or you won't see your brother again!" Kidd threatened.

"Hey, that's playing dirty!" Max ejaculated.

"Who says Team Rocket plays fair?" Billy retorted. "We'll just have to take your god cards by force!" He out his Poké ball.

"No, you won't!" Téa stepped in.

"You wanna my Blue Eyes? You'll have to battle me!" Kaiba growled, activating his duel disk.

Everyone joined him as they prepared to defend their allies' cards and their Pokémon.

* * *

Miles away from the Old West town, everything seemed quiet and still in the badlands. The shadows of the formations, rocks, and cactuses shifted direction as the sun rose higher. But all that changed when a ominous black front poured over the badlands, showering it with darkness. The shadows of the landscapes transformed to life by the magnetic dark clouds, left their posts, and all slithered on the grounds and terrains, shaping like monstrous canines. They were heading straight to the ghost town where the party are still located...

Before two sides could face off again, the Old West town began to rumble unexpectedly. "Huh?" The party looked up.

"Pika?"

Billy and Kidd felt the ground rumbled beneath their feet. "What the-"

The friends looked around them and noticed the houses and shops creaking and joggling. Jessie, James, and Meowth felt movement underneath the ground.

Out of nowhere, a fissure appeared on the ground and drew a cracking line across the dusty road of the town and between the heroes and Team Rocket, making them yelled in fear.

"What's happening?" Brock asked.

"It's another earthquake!" Téa shouted.

"It's worse than that, this world has reached its end!" Kaiba cried. "We're too late!"

Everyone exclaimed in fear as they tried to hold on. Billy and Kidd grunted and yelled as they struggled to keep footing. "This ain't going as we planned it!" The large round man blurted.

* * *

"Seto! Guys! Oh no!" Mokuba cried in horror.

"This cannot be happening to me!" Pegasus held his silver hair in frantic.

The Pokémon, Machamp and Manetric feared for their masters' lives and disputed whether to go inside the dome and help them or remained here to keep an eye on the hostages as ordered.

"I've got to do something to help!" Mokuba said as he attempted to type in the keyboards. But an electrical discharge stopped him and Mokuba yelped and stepped back. "I can't get through!"

The lights in the laboratory flickered. "Huh?" The engineers and Pokémon looked up. The power seemed to be going haywire again.

"Now what?" Pegasus uttered.

Mokuba heard a warning buzz coming from the dome control. He gasped when he recognized the same virus icon on the video screen he saw before. Then suddenly, that piercing high-pitched noise occurred out of nowhere, assaulting everyone's ears.

Suddenly, there was a freakish power outage with the building. All the lights and electricity of KaibaCorp were drained away as if by force. The people inside the lab expressed in fear as darkness poured over them. Mokuba, Pegasus, and the Pokémon gasped, wondering what the heck is happening.

* * *

Back inside the dome, all depths of the underworld broke loose. After the earthquake, the ground shattered to pieces. Everybody screamed as they plummeted into the gravityless space where there is nothing left except darkness. The party floated in midair, looking around in trepidation.

"What level is this?" May asked.

"We just dropped in a new level of trouble," Tristan answered.

"What's wrong with this virtual world?" Ash asked. "Why is this happening?"

"It must be that virus in the gaming system," Kaiba remembered.

"Virus?" The party repeated.

"I thought it was just a glitch when I was creating this virtual world, but now-"

"Wait, are you saying that you knew there was something wrong with the virtual program, Rich Boy?" Joey interposed. He then grabbed the KaibaCorp president by the collar and glared at him in the face. "If you knew that, wouldn't it been nice if you had warn us before we got in? Huh?!" He growled.

"Put me down, you underdog," Kaiba responded coolly.

"I don't think this is Kaiba's fault," the pharaoh said. "We may not be dealing with an ordinary virus."

"I don't like this place anymore!" James said. "I want out!"

"Quit being such a baby, James!" Meowth scratched his human partner face. "A soldier must be brave in every situation!"

Suddenly, they heard loud growling from nowhere. Everyone turned around, trying to find the source of that noise. Jessie and James held on to each other, feeling terrified. Meowth held on Billy's face who vexedly pried him off and flicked him in the gravityless air. Then the party all expressed in horror as they gaped at something in front of them, something horrible and evil beyond belief.


	18. Escape from the Virtual World

**Sorry for the wait. Writer's block XP, plus I was spending quality time with my grandmother during her visit.**

**But I'm back now!**

**PEACE**

In front of the party, A colossal unidentified formless blob of blackness floated from the dark ambience. "What in the world is that thing?" Max asked.

"I don't think I want to find out." Tristan said.

"Pika!" It hissed at it from Ash's shoulders.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Yami said gravely.

"Look," Ash pointed it out.

The monstrous blob guggled as it began to move animatedly. Bistre bumps rose up and down and shifted sideways.

"Okay, now dat's sick!" Joey said, mouth scrunching in disgust.

The three bistre boils on the top swelled up and formed into heads with ears, horns, and muzzles. Four more limbs grew out the bubbles on the sides of the blob, and something long grew out from the rear.

"Ew!" Téa muttered and covered her mouth. Max and May held on to each in trepidation while party watched the rest with suspense.

The blob has morphed into a titanic-size form of an animal with three-heads, each with a set of horns on their heads, eyes colored yellow, white, and red, and different expressions on their faces; anger, sorrow, and deviousness. Its fur was black and dark purple and has a crimson belly with red markings on their plum muzzles. It also has a bushy blackish mane all the way down its three snaky tails with red tips. It also had several black chains around its necks like a collars.

The party stared at in speechless horror. "Merry mother of monsters!" Tristan exclaimed horrifiedly.

"W-w-what do you c-ca-call that t-t-thing?" Brock stammered fearfully.

"I'm guessing a three-headed dog?" Joey guessed.

Standing on its four large paws, the three heads growled and cocked their heads, leering rapaciously at its prey. "Whatever that is, it looks hungry, and I think we're on his dinner menu!" Téa said fearfully.

"I want my mommy!" James wailed.

Even Billy and Kidd looked a tad bit afraid. They've never seen anything like this, even on their dangerous missions. The three-headed monster stood in attacking posture and pulled their lips backs, revealing their formidable rows of fangs. The party backed away with fear.

"Nice doggy!" Meowth squeaked fearfully.

"Calm down, you guys." Kaiba said, cool as a cucumber. "It's just another one of those holograms. It can't hurt us."

The three-headed beast let out huge deafening roars that assaulted party's eardrums and rocked the void dimension. The friends screamed and tried to shield their eyes from the loud noises. The tri-headed giant rose on its hind legs as it continued bellow at the top of its lungs.

One of its long black tail with a red tip whiplashed and ripped a hole in the dark background, creating a dimensional portal that allowed a swarm of black dogs with bat-like wings pour through.

Everyone gasped in alarm as the dog gargoyles went on the first assault. "HEADS UP!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachu!" It shouted as it tried to electrocute the monsters away. Everyone yelled as they tried to fend off the black creatures.

"Back off!" Joey shouted as he kicked off an attacking dog.

* * *

Back at the dark laboratory, the emergency lights switched on. "This is bad!" Mokuba said. "This is super bad! Seto and the others are still trapped in that done and there's no way in!"

"I don't know what in devil's name is going on, but somebody better do something to fix this nightmare!" Pegasus said. "At least, the virtual world is still working." He said. "Which means our friends are still alive."

"Yes, but for how long?" Mokuba added solemnly.

* * *

"AAAHHHH! HELP ME!" May screamed in distress as a creature snagged her and carried her up.

"May! Aaaahhh!" Max screamed as he is snatched next.

"Max!" Tristan yelled. He then got picked up by a dog-bat.

One by one, the other friends were captured by those flying dogs and carried high in the air. Brock and Téa screamed as they got snatched next. Kaiba was also caught by a flying dog

"Guys!" Ash shouted in concern.

"Put me down, ya furry freak!" Joey shouted as a dog gargoyle carried him up in its talons.

Yami grunted as he whooshed his arm against the other monsters.

Kidd, who he and his partner stood in the circle of the cornering enemies threw out his Poké ball and out came a Pokémon who looked like a golden anthropomorphic fox with a star on its forehead, and carrying a spoon. "Kadabra!"

"Kadabra, use Teleport and get us out of here!" His trainer commanded.

Billy and Kidd held on to the psychic Pokémon as it received command and psychically transported them and itself out of the virtual world before the dog gargoyles slammed to each other on that spot.

"Not the haaaaiiirrrr!" Jessie shrieked as she is being craned up by the her long red hair.

James screamed as his white shirt was tugged from above while Meowth was pulled up his tail.

"Wobbuffet!" It was carried next by another gargoyle.

* * *

Back in the dim laboratory, while Pegasus and Mokuba and the rest of the hostages were still unable to help their friends. Billy and Kidd reappeared back from the dome with Kadabra. The hostages saw in them in the flashes from the only working machine which was hacked by an evil force. "Huh?" Pegasus and Mokuba blinked and stared at the intruders.

"Machamp, return!" Kidd retracted his muscular Pokémon back in its Poké ball.

"Duh, what are we doin', Kidd?" Billy asked his partner.

"It's gettin' too perilous! We have to abort mission!" Kidd answered.

"Duh, what? Abort mission? Are you crazy?" Billy objected. "What about the Blue Eyes White Dragon and the God Cards?"

"Dimwit! We'll still get what we came for!" Kidd snapped. "We just got to abort mission for now and then we'll try again once things quiet down!"

"Duh, right! Good thinkin', Kidd." Billy agreed as he retrieved his Manectric into the Poké ball as well.

"Let's get the heck out of here!" Kidd said.

Kadabra initially transported its trainers out of the laboratory and they all evacuated, leaving their hostages behind..

"They certainly were in a hurry," Pegasus said. "Good riddance."

"But Seto, Yugi, and the others are still trapped in the dome!" Mokuba said. "And without any power, there's no way of contacting for help or getting our friends out of there!"

Pegasus gasped in worry.

* * *

The flying black creatures held the friends high in the dark atmosphere, leaving Ash, Pikachu, and Yami left facing mysterious new enemy.

"Get us down from here!" May screamed.

"Help us!" The others cried for help.

"Hold on, guys!" Yami hollered.

"Pikachu!"

"What is going on?" Ash asked as he, Pikachu, and the pharaoh turned back to the three-headed beast. They saw that the three faces represented three characters; Deviousness (the one with yellow eyes), sorrow (with white eyes), and anger (with red eyes). All of them looked unsurprisingly malevolent and it shared one thing in common; violence. And it's setting its bloodthirsty six eyes on the Pokémon trainer and the spiky haired duelist.

One of the heads barked and signaled one of its henchmen carrying Meowth to come down. It swooped down and held the scratch cat Pokémon in front of the three heads. The rest of the black flying melted and transformed into a mass of gripping black thorn that kept the helpless prisoners out of reach of their friends.

"Daaaaa! Don't eat me! I taste like poodie!" Meowth cried in panic as he frantically squimed in the dog-bat's claws.

Knowing that the frightened scratch cat Pokémon can speak, the three heads casted their fearsomely tiny black pupils upon him and pierced mentally. Meowth stopped squirming and his blue eyes grew blank and flared red as he fell pawn to the beast's control. "**Welcome, Nameless Pharaoh and Pokémon traveler, to the final boss level!**" The three-headed dog boomed through his new puppet's language, addressing the two surprised heroes below.

"What?" Ash and Yami ejaculated at same time.

"Pika?"

"**Your walkthrough adventure ends here, mortals! There will be no escape for everyone!**" The possessed scratch cat continued. A deep demonic voice mixed with Meowth's as it spoke.

The party expressed in shock. "Say what?" Joey spat out.

"Meowth! What's gotten into you?" Jessie exclaimed.

"Something tells me Meowth is not there anymore," James said.

"Wobba, Wobbuffet!" It hung upside down.

"That thing is an intelligent creature. It's taken control of Meowth so it could speak to us," Yami Yugi said perspectively.

"**You**** are correct, Pharaoh!**" The three-headed beast replied, communicating through Meowth's mind. "**I'm using this ****talking cat Pokémon here as my puppet**** to send you this message; ****You must understand that I've come for you two! Nameless Pharaoh and Pokémon traveller!**"

"For us? What do you mean?" Ash addressed the large beast. "What are you exactly?"

"**I am what they call me, the monster of death and destruction!**" The three-headed monster replied. "**I am Cerberus, the guardian of the Shadow Realm!**"

"Cerberus?" Ash and Yami repeated.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Max asked out loud.

**"I am the final boss of this last level which is also your final destination!" **It glared down at the humans malevolently.

"We heard you the first time!We're not scared of you, whatever you're called!" Ash retorted. "We defeated your little friends! We can defeat you too!"

"Pika!"

The three-headed monster chuckled enigmatically. "**Then** **it's**** time to duel!**"

"Duel?" Ash and Yami repeated in question.

"Pika?"

The four-legged beast rose on his hind legs and stood on them. He roared as he began to change once more. Cerberus' fore limbs shortened into strong furry arms. The toes of his front paws grew into five fingers and thumbs with red sharp nails. His shoulders rose up as his backbone cracked and straightened up. His hinds legs unbended and stood straight up. Cerberus' necks stretched up into longer lengths as his wide black shoulders broadened. Bones cracked in every place. Its three tails whipped in every place. "Pika." It chirped softly in trepidation.

Its red belly changed into muscular torso with abs. Everyone's expressions were changed into mixtures of fear and wonder. The unimaginably large beast was modifying itself in humanoid form.

Once the transformation was complete, two enormous feet stomped in front of the horrified duo. The anthropomorphic furry three-headed giant that was bigger than before cracked his necks and glared down at his selected prey. Ash and Yami choked out breaths of horror, unable to utter a word. It was nothing like they've ever seen before. Cerberus' long black mane reached down his waist, the black chains jiggled around his neckline like a collar, and his five fingers wriggled and bent into a fist.

Just then, a similar round black and red gadget on Cerberus' forearm and a arm blade inserted out in a circular direction. The humans gawked at it with returned shock. "Are you kidding me?" Brock ejaculated.

"No way!" Kaiba shouted.

"A dog with a duel disk?" Joey shouted."That's nuts!"

"This is absolutely crazy!" Max shouted.

"**I, Cerberus, the guardian of the Shadow Realm challenge nameless pharaoh and the young traveler to a duel!**" The three-headed titan called out. His life points been reset to 4,000.

**"You'll have to go through me if you want to escape. Chances of your success are nonexistent! Once I defeat you and have your souls as trophies, this dome will be your resting place!**"

"A duel? Against a video game boss?" Yami exclaimed in surprise.

The party expressed in horror, fearing what will the three-headed giant do to everyone.

"We can't do that!" Ash said.

"**You won't have much choice, mortal!**" Cerberus boomed. "**It's either duel us or watch your friends die in the air!**"

He threatened, nodding his three heads upward his prisoners trapped high in the air, whimpering in fear.

"You leave our friends out of it!" Ash shouted. "If it's us you want, let them go!"

"**Then bring out your duel disk and face me!**"

"It looks like we have to duel him, Ash, for the sake of our friends." Yami said. "Otherwise, we're trapped here!"

Ash growled and glared at the 80-foot monster with vengeance. "Alright, you mongrel mutant!" He shouted, bravely accepting the challenge. "If it's a duel you want, then that's what we're gonna give you! So come get us, you three-headed pit bull!"

"Pikachu!"

"**As you wish, mortal!**" Cerberus talking through Meowth's mind remarked with satisfaction.

The two bold heroes activated their duel disks and faced their titanic opponent. (Their life points were reset to 4000.) "Let's duel!"

"Be careful, guys!" Joey hollered.

With his new puppet by his side, Cerberus glared down at his opponents and drew out the first card. "**I summon Big Eyes in the field!**" He placed his monster card into the slot, summoning a purple monster with eyes all over its body. "**And then I place two cards and end my turn.**"

"I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!" Ash declared as a anthropomorphic black panther in a warrior's costume appeared.

"I summon Berfomet in attack mode!" Yami summoned next. "I then place two cards facedown."

"**How very feeble.**" Cerberus said. "**You've fallen right into my trap!**"

"Huh?" The human boys looked up at him.

"**I reveal my facedown card, Aratama!**" Cerberus pulled up his facedown card, revealing a ball of fire with a sinister face on it. "**Its special ability allows me to move a monster card from my deck into my hand.**" He drew out a card and placed it in his hand. "**Now Aratama attack Berfomet!**"

Yami gasped in alarm as the flaming spirit came roaring at his monster. Aratama torched Berfomet and terminated it, erasing the pharaoh's life points by 1,800, reducing to 2,20.

"Oh no!" Téa hollered.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Ash asked in concern.

"I'm fine!" Yami said, painfully rubbing his side.

"Hold on, I play four Sheep tokens out onto the field," Ash declared as four colorful sheep tokens appeared next to Panther Warrior.

"Then I sacrifice one of them in order for my Panther Warrior to attack Big Eyes!"

With a powerup boost on his sword from one of the Scapegoats, Panther Warrior charged toward the enemy's monster and terminated it, deducting Cerberus' life points by 1000.

"Heh! How's that?" Ash smirked.

"**Very good, traveler!**" Cerberus remarked. "**But not good enough!**" He pulled up another facedown card. "**Just Desserts!**"

"Huh?!" Ash gawked at it in surprise when a ghostly hand shot from the card and seized hold of him.

"**Just Desserts takes 500 of your life points for each monster on your side of the field!"**

Ash yelled as his life points were robbed out of a total of 500 times 3 of his playing monsters, reducing to 2000 left.

"ASH!" The friends called in concern.

"**This is just the beginning of your torment!**" Cerberus jeered. Ash and Yami glared angrily up at him.

"**I summon Plague Wolf in attack mode!**" An ugly zombie dog at level three appeared on the field with 1000 attack and defense points.

"Your rabid dog don't scare us!" Ash retorted.

"**And then I summon Asura Priest!**" A third monster appeared next on the field.

"Wait a minute, you can't summon more than one monster per turn!" Yami pointed out.

"**Here in the Shadow Realm, you can!**" Cerberus boomed. "**I control the rules, just like I control all of this virtual world, every last unit!**"

"But how is this possible?" Ash asked.

"**With the help of my minions, my mind was able to hack into KaibaCorp's computer network and take control of technology, including this virtual dome.**" Cerberus explained.

The friends could not believe what they just heard. "That can't be!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"So that's why this video game has been going haywire!" Brock said.

"That's crazy!" Joey cried.

"How can a virus gain control of my company's computer network, let alone the virtual dome?" Kaiba asked.

"**I'm not just a hologram, you fools! I am the breath of the real Cerberus whose flesh and soul is still trapped in that Ball of the Underworld which you and the traveler locked me up 5,000 years ago! But now I have come back for revenge!**" He grudgingly glared down at the heroes who looked up at him in bewilderment.

"I don't understand," Yami said.

"**Of course you don't understand, Pharaoh! Your memories were erased!**" Cerberus controlling Meowth snapped.

"But what does that got to do with me?" Ash asked. "I wasn't even born 5,000 years ago!"

"Pika!"

"**You mortals are as ignorant as you are weak**!" Cerberus growled. "**Let us finish this duel so I can claim your souls!"**

"You leave Ash alone!" Yami stepped in front of his young friend. "He is not that Pokémon traveler who trapped you inside that ball eons ago! He has nothing to do with this!"

Cerberus just roared deafeningly, urging to take victory into his hands.

"We have to be careful, Ash." Yami warned his friend. "We're not just dueling against a virtual boss, we're dueling against an evil spirit that has hacked into the gaming software."

"I know." Ash agreed.

"Pika."

"**Make your move, mortals, unless you want to skip the suffering and be put out of your misery!**"

"We're just getting started, Cerberus!" Yami said. "I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!"

"Then I sacrifice him to summon Dark Magician Girl!" His beautiful enchanted sorceress rose up and floated in Big Shield Gardna's place.

"I summon Wattsquirrel in attack mode!" Ash summoned his favorite monster to the field.

"**I place this one facedown and end my turn!**" Cerberus declared cunningly as he planted an unknown card facedown.

_Uh-oh! A facedown card. _Yami thought.

"That's a dumb move!" Ash laughed cockily. "Wattsquirrel, attack the facedown card at one o'clock!"

"Ash, no!" Yami warned.

But Wattsquirrel already fired out a lighting bolt attack, directly facedown card. But before it could touch it, a peculiar black monster hiding inside a jar appeared from underneath the card and lunged at its opponents.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"A Morphing Jar! Oh no!" The pharaoh said in concern.

"What's a Morphing Jar?" Ash asked.

"**When a Morphing Jar is attacked, we each must discard our entire hand!**" Cerberus explained as he discarded his hand to the graveyard and drew freshly six cards.

"Ah shoot!" Ash muttered as he and the pharaoh did the same.

"Pika!"

* * *

Back at the dark laboratory, Mokuba decided that he couldn't just stand there anymore. It was time that he and Pegasus take action with the heroes still trapped inside the virtual dome. He was heading towards the emergency lab exit when Pegasus watched him run.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm going to find help!" Mokuba said, opening access the door. "I don't know what's happening here but I'm not gonna sit here and watch things turn worse. We've got to do something now that Team Rocket's Pokémon aren't here to keep us imprisoned anymore! Our friends are still inside the virtual dome, so it's up to us now to fight this crisis!"

"You do whatever you can to help the scientists in the lab, Pegasus. "I'm going to find Roland!" He turned and left.

"Will do!" Pegasus received as he rushed to the other hostages' assistance. _Please hurry, Mokuba._ He thought as he untied the hostages. _The reputation of my company is at stake here._

Mokuba hurried down the dim stairways, holding the flashlight in the lead.

Meanwhile, Roland and the others escaped from a broken down elevator which doors they had to pry open. "Get out of there!"

The group studied their surroundings. "Look at this disaster!" One suit commented.

"We have to save Mr. Kaiba!" Said a second one.

"Roland!" They heard a boy's voice addressing them.

They turned around and saw their young vice-president approaching them. "Roland, it's you!"

"Mokuba!" The business manager exclaimed.

"Am I glad to see you!" The long-haired boy said. "We got a really big problem!"

"So we do," Roland responded concededly.

"I need to get to the generator room and reset the circuit breaker," Mokuba planned. "You guys do whatever it takes to help the employees restore order." He instructed his suits.

"Yes, sir." Roland excepted as he and the suits split up while Mokuba preceeded on to the generator room.

* * *

Back at the "Shadow Realm", things were about to tune in for the worse. "**It has been fun toying with you, Pharaoh and traveler, but it's time I end this duel, for I have saved the worst for last...worst for you that is!**" Cerberus smiled maliciously. "**You should feel privileged, mortals!**"

"And why is that, Cerberus?" Yami asked.

"**You will get to meet my ultimate and undefeatable monster face-to-face before your souls are lost to the Shadow Realms forever!**"

Yami and Ash began to feel afraid. "Pika, Pika," it warned its humans comrades.

"**I activate Gates to Hades!**" Cerberus held out a dangerously magic spell card. "**It allows me to sacrifice my two monsters on the field and send all the monsters in deck to the graveyard...**"

"What?" The human heroes looked with confusion.

Two of Cerberus' monsters sank in a bubbling puddle of darkness. The other monster cards in Cerberus' deck left the duel disk slot and joined the others to the graveyard.

The captured party watched with wonder. "He's sending every last monster from his deck to the graveyard!" Tristan said.

"Talk about dumb." Max said.

_What is that holographic beast up to?_ Kaiba thought.

Yellow-white lightning struck eerily across the colorless welkin. A black hole appeared on the ground and enlarged into black portal that leads to the graveyard. An even more awful monster rose up from that spot and fully arrived onto the field. It looked like a mythical wolf with a dark teal fur, a long body shaped like a dragon with four long skeleton legs, a thorny tail, and a frighteningly face with a leering red eyes that could vaporized its enemies into dust. Its level is at 12 and it has 5000 attack points and 4100 defense points

"What is that?" Ash asked.

"**My most humble servant, Inugami, the Spirit of Dark Magic!**" Cerberus announced dastardly. "**And also your executioner!"**

"Inugami?" The duo repeated.

"**Inugami has an impassible amount of attack points which will be enough to wipe your monsters and life points into dust!**" Cerberus declared viciously as he visioned his evil monster crushing Panther Warrior, Wattasquirrel, and Dark Magician Girl, and finishing off Ash and Yami's life points in a overkill.

A streak of terror and despair fell upon the dueling heroes. "Uh, Pharaoh?" Ash spoke up.

"Yeah, Ash?" Yami replied.

"I think we were in trouble."

"I think so too."

"Pika."

Cerberus cackled loudly in their own voices, believing they have won.

"Don't listen to him, guys!" Brock's voice stepped in.

"**Huh**?" Cerberus looked up.

The heroes' friends were sending messages of support and courage down to their leaders, despite still held prisoner.

"Don't listen to that overgrown fleabag!" Tristan added. "You can still do this!"

"He's too strong! I don't think we can defeat him!" Ash responded in despondency.

"Come on, guys! You can't give up!" Max encouraged.

"We're battling against the guardian of the Shadow Realm!" Yami said. "I'm sorry to say this, but we're no match for him!"

"If you lose this duel, we're doomed!" James said.

"Come on, Ash and Yugi! We know you can do this!" Brock hollered.

"You got to defeat Cerberus!" Téa added. "Everyone's counting on you!"

"If you could defeat Team Rocket, you can triumph over that overgrown mad mutt!" Joey added.

"If you let this monster win and have him take our souls, I'll never forgive you two!" Jessie shrilled.

"Have you forgotten that it's just a hologram?" Kaiba stepped in. "No matter what that thing said, it's another of one those glitch bosses. If you can defeat those other monsters, this one can be destroyed! So do yourselves a favor and do not shame yourselves by getting crushed by a silly hologram!"

"**SILENCE**!" Cerberus roared, shaking the entire dimension. Ash and Yami yelped and stumbled backwards by the earthshaking noise.

The friends ignored the godly monster and proceeded their inspirationing support for their friends. "You can do this, Ash and Yugi!" Joey said encouragingly.

"We believe in you, guys!" May said.

"You can win! You can beat him!" Max cheered.

"Even your monsters believe in you!" Téa added.

At her exact words, the monsters on the field, Dark Magician Girl, Wattasquirrel, and Panther Warrior turned their heads to their owners, showing that they have faith and complete trust in them.

"Pika, Pika!" It nodded, sharing its faith and courage with its human companions.

Surrounded by their faithful and loving friends and trustworthy monsters, the heroes gained renewed hope and found the will to duel against the three-headed giant. "They're right, Yugi." Ash said. "We can do this. We'll put Cerberus in his place!"

"Pikachu!"

"We just have to believe in the heart of the cards!" Yami said.

"**You fools! You don't have a chance against Cerberus, the almighty supreme guardian of the Shadow Realm!**" Cerberus' puppet Meowth objected. "**No matter what your idiotic friends said! It's the end of the road for you both!**"

"It's easy to lose faith when things get hairy," Yami said. "But as long as we have friends on our sides, we will never give in to despair! Evil will never triumph!" His violet eyes sparkled.

"And we have just the thing to put your Inugami out of commission!" Ash smirked.

"Pika, Pikachu!" It hung on its owner's shoulder in support.

* * *

Meanwhile Mokuba was in the generator room, flipping the switches on the circuit. "I have to make sure every other electrical component is turned off so I won't risk further damage and endanger other lives when I rest the company's power system," he said to himself. _Please let this be too late!_ He thought in prayer.

* * *

"I play Black Luster Ritual!" Yami held out a spell card. "It allows me to sacrifice Dark Magician Girl and Ash's Panther Warrior to summon Black Luster Soldier!" In the former monsters' places appeared a tall muscular human dressed head to toe in dark armor with greenish streaks across his body and carrying a sword and shield.

Cerberus rolled his eyes. "**If you think that this pathetic knight will take out my monster, you're sadly mistaken!**"

"This isn't the monster we're going to use!" Ash returned, confidently holding another card in his hand. "I'm going to use Polymerization to bring out your worst nightmare!"

"**What****?**" Cerberus looked at them queerly.

"With the power of two, we will crush your Inugami in its place and send you packing, Cerberus!" Yami declared.

The duo looked at each other in courage and both believe it is time to put that video game boss out of place. Together in sync, the bold duelists placed their rightfully selected cards in the slot and their monsters fused into something incredible. "We fused Wattsquirrel and Black Luster Soldier into..." A bright of white light washed over the field, brightening up the dark dimension temporarily. The party watched with excitement while Cerberus awaited with bored anticipation.

"Black Luster Warrior of Thunder!" It had formed into a more powerful soldier with golden shining streaks and a larger sword shaped like a lightning bolt. It is now at level twelve with 5500 ATK and 3500 DEF.

Everyone gazed at the incredibleness. "Awesome! Wattsquirrel and Black Luster Soldier have fused into Black Luster Warrior of Thunder!" Max said.

"It looks super powerful!" Téa said.

"It looks like it could turn Inugami into sushi!" Tristan said.

Cerberus looked super annoyed and growled. "**Please!** **That pathetic warrior still won't stand a chance against Inugami, the Spirit of Black Magic!**" He jeered.

"We'll see about that!" Yami smirked.

"**Enough stalling, mortal!**" Cerberus shouted. "**Inugami, send that wretched warrior burning in the underworld!**" He leered at the determined heroes with self-assured victory. "Your soldier won't stand a chance against Inugami's special ability, Wrath of the Black Arts!"

The mystical monster spirit rose its dark fur and breathed out various potent meteors of blue fireballs at the heroes' champion monster.

But Yami and Ash are not too afraid anymore. "Black Luster Warrior, GO!" They cried out together.

Black Luster Warrior held on to his lightning sword and charged bravely at full speed, dodging the fireballs left and right. One last enormous hurled down at his way, but Black Luster Warrior pierced through it like it was nothing.

"**WHAT?!**" Cerberus' eyes widened with shock.

"Black Luster Warrior, slash that overstretched mongrel!" Ash and Yami declared the final attack.

Black Luster Warrior of Thunder rose lightning sword up, lunged in mid-air, and swung it across Inugami when they came across together. The heroes' warrior landed on his feet and stood in standby position, holding his thunder bolt shaped sword, following the termination of the Black Magic god.

"**NO IT CAN'T BE!**" Cerberus roared as his life points zipped down to zero.

"The final boss has been defeated!" Yami declared.

"**CURSE YOU! BUT I'LL BE BACK!**" The three-headed giant bellowed in anger as his entire body disintegrated into tiny molecules and dissolved completely. Along with him, the dog gargoyle that was holding Meowth shattered to pieces and disappeared.

The scratch cat Pokémon who was free from Cerberus' control, drifted slowly in the air and opened his back-to-normal eyes."Huh? Where am I?" He muttered in daze.

The black vines that were holding the prisoners were dissolved as well. The freed friends rejoiced with praise and descended slowly to their leaders. "You did it, guys!" Brock lauded.

"Way to go!" Joey jubilated.

"You guys rock!" Tristan grinned.

"I knew you guys would kick that overgrown mutt!" Max beamed.

"My heroes!" James weeped in joy.

"That'll do, guys!" Jessie said, feeling grateful.

"Would somebody tell me what just happened?" Meowth asked, rubbing his head. He doesn't remember being controlled by a computer-downloaded evil spirit.

* * *

In the generator room, Mokuba finished resetting the switched of the circuit breaker and placed his hand on the lever. "I hope this works." He pulled it down and all of the company's power immediately restored. The machinery started humming, the electricity ran like a river, and the lights

"Yes!" Mokuba rose his fist up.

Back in laboratory while Pegasus finished untying the hostages, the power in the room also returned, much to everyone's relief. "The power's back on," the white-haired man said. "Thank you, Ash and Yugi. Mokuba too."

In every section of KaibaCorp, the lights clicked back on, the computers and electronics were functioning stably, and the distressed employees trapped in their offices were saved by Roland and the suits and praised with delight that the danger has lifted.

* * *

When the danger was over, the heroes were reunited with their friends. The background reverted back to normal and they were now standing in the middle of the desert.

May gave Ash a great big hug. "Oh, Ash! I was so afraid we were goners!" She shed tears as she squeezed her friend tighter in her arms.

"Take it easy, May. You're safe now," Ash whizzed, trying to loosen himself out of May's grasp.

"Pika."

"Let's just hope there aren't any more enemies," Yami said.

* * *

Far away in the Poké world, Yami Bakura hissed when he felt a pang through the Ball of the Underworld, sensing that the video game version three-headed spirit have failed. "Blasted! Cerberus' soul isn't strong enough..." He said gruffly. "Come, Pokémon, we got to find more souls to feed." He commanded to his band of possessed Pokémon (Rattata, Spearow and Pidgey, Furret on his shoulders, Hoppip, and Duskell) as they accompanied him during his trek. "We must build a bigger army..." They traipsed onward on the dirt road, which leads straight to Pallet Town.

* * *

After defeating the Cerberus look-alike, the party were all gathered together, celebrating their mini victory. "Man, that was intense!" Tristan said. "You saved us again, guys." He addressed Ash and Yami.

"We owe you big time!" Joey said.

"Too bad you two can't owe yourselves favors and duel your way out of this one!" Kaiba castigated. "You had to rely on your friends to save your deadbeats!"

Joey and Tristan glared at the CEO president in annoyance. "Ya know, you could be a little nicer!" The blond dude retorted.

"Next time we'll feed ya to Cerberus' men!" The pointy haired teen snarled. The both lunge at Kaiba who ducked and let those wacjy teens grabbed each other.

"I need some female friends!" Téa groaned. May giggled

"Now where do we go from here next?" Max asked.

Just then, a familiar and spiritual voice occurred from nowhere. "Congratulations, you have completed the game."

The gang looked up, wondering where the voice was coming from. "Who said dat?" Joey asked.

"You have endured the first trial, but there are still more dangers ahead of you in the future," the voice continued.

"Why don't you show your face then?" Tristan dared.

Yami recognized the voice. "It sounded like..." He didn't get a chance to finish when Max interrupted.

"Look over there!" He pointed forward.

The party turned around and eyed in wonder. There is a monumental Egyptian pyramid standing proudly over them. "Is that a...pyramid?" Max asked.

"Sure looks it," Brock said.

"But what's it doing here?" Joey asked.

"Let's go inside!" Ash suggested.

"Pika!" It, Ash, Yugi, and the following party entered inside the pyramid.

They walked down the quiet hallways of the which walls were decorated with paintings of the Egyptian past. "This just gets more interesting," Joey commented.

They then next stepped down corridors of stairs which leads deeper inside the pyramid. Hoving from behind, Mew followed along.

"This brings back memories of our field trip," Max mentioned. "Remember the mummy, May?"

May shuddered. "I was trying not to."

The party then came to a halt. "Looks like we came across a dead end." Kaiba said.

""Not quite, look at that wall." Brock pointed.

The party looked up and gasped in wonder. Hanging on the dead end wall, there is a painting of the pharaoh, _the_ pharaoh from 5,000 years, and that same Pokémon traveler battling against Cerberus with their Pokémon, comparing their last duel against that three-headed doppelgänger in the final level.

"Is that-" Brock spoke up.

"They look like-" The gang stated together.

"Mew!" The party was so absorbed into the mystical slab, they didn't even noticed that Mew hovered between them.

Ash and Yami touched the heads of their incarnates and the whole wall shone white and disappeared, opening up an portal which leads to another dimension. The party gazed curiously at the newly opened door and decided to take a chance and walk through it, entering a new area that lead to freedom or more danger...

**Excuse the confusion, but earlier I decided to reedit this this chapter short and cut it short until the next one. It will get more interesting, I assure you.**

**please review and tell me what you think so far.**


	19. Back To The Real World

**I apologize for the confusion, but this is supposed to be the original chapter that Ash, Yugi, and co. was finally able to get back on the real world. I had a writer's block during the summer and rushed to get these chapters done, but now I'm back in command. No more foolishness**

**I really hope you guys are liking this story.**

**PEACE**

During the flash of light, there was a brief historical replay of two familiar figures walking down realm of the whiteness. They appeared to be the pharaoh of 5,000 ago Egypt and the young Pokémon traveller with the Pikachu. They stopped and looked at each other and realize it was time to depart and live their own lives. It was presumedly after they defeated Cerberus and two worlds were separated...

When the whiteness dissolved, Ash, Yami, and co. cautiously opened their eyes and blinked a few times to restore their vision. "Did we make it?" Ash asked.

"Pika..."

Their visions scanned the the new area. It appeared to be a room full of equipment, technology, and long thick cables. It looked so familiar.

"This might be a dumb question, but where are we this time?" May asked.

"It looks like we're in a laboratory of some kind," Brock observed.

"Laboratory?" Max asked.

"What kind of level is that?" Tristan asked.

"Ash? Yugi?" A male voice occured.

"Huh?" The friends answered to that voice.

Maximilian Pegasus, Mokuba Kaiba, and a line of engineers stood in front of the party when they exited through the scanner portal, almost the same one they entered through. Roland and the other suits were also present there.

"Pegasus?" Ash asked.

"Mokuba?" Yugi said.

"What are you guys doing here?" The friends asked altogether.

"Well, we saw you on the video screen when the power came back on," Pegasus answered. "We were extremely thrilled that you survived the calamity. So all of us gathered here at the exit portal to welcome you back."

"Really? So we're back into da real world?" Joey asked.

"Does that mean we pass the game?" Max asked.

"Pikachu."

"Seto!" Mokuba beamed with joy and rushed to his brother's side.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba saw him and caught him in his arms and the reunited brothers hugged each other tightly.

"World, sweet world! How I missed you!" Tristan praised with teary joy as he kissed the linoleum floor.

"I am never setting foot in another virtual world again!" Joey vowed.

"Me too." Brock said, stretching his neck.

"I don't know about you guys, but I don't wanna hear the word 'game' for a while!" Max said. "From now on, I'm sticking with books."

"Amen to that!" Téa agreed.

"So is everyone alright?" Yami asked.

"Oh, yes, we're all okay now!" The engineers and scientists replied at once.

"Just dandy!"

"We were tied up by a pair of Pokémon, but other than that, we're okay."

"That's good to hear," Ash smiled.

"Pika."

"I'm so glad you are safe, little brother." The oldest Kaiba said. "Did those creeps hurt you?"

"I'm okay now, big brother." The littlest boy said. "I'm glad you're save as well!"

"What about me? I too was held hostage by those hooligan Pokémon," Pegasus said.

"We're glad to see you're okay too, Mr. Pegasus," May said.

"Those no-good, rotten sons of a snake!" Pegasus gritted in fury. "If I ever see those crooks again..."

"They will pay for what they did at the KaibaCorp," Kaiba filled that sentence. "I'll make them regret that they touched my brother!"

"Make who pay?" Joey asked. "What are they talking about?"

"Team Rocket, who else?" Téa reminded. "Remember they broke into KaibaCorp?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth cowered underneath a nearby desk, thinking they were talking about them.

"Hey, that's right!" Ash blinked in remembrance. "I forgot about Billy and Kidd!"

"Pika."

Jessie, James, and Meowth looked very relief that they were talking about their rivals and are off the hook for the moment.

"Those crooks tried to steal Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon and do away with our friends' Pokémon," Yami said. "We have to make sure they won't get away with it."

The group looked around the laboratory for the enemies. "Hang on, where are those guys?" Tristan asked.

"Come to think of it, weren't they with us when we saw Cerberus?" Téa asked.

The party then guessed what may have come of the enemies. "Do you think something happened to them when we escaped back to the real world?" May asked.

"On the contrary, my dear May, those crooks evacuated the dome before you guys did," Pegasus answered her. "They took their Pokémon and scooted."

"So they're still around, huh?" Ash said.

"We're not taking any chances. Guards, search the entire building!" Kaiba commanded his suits. "Leave no room unchecked, search every section of each floor."

"Yes, sir!" The security suits took order and scattered to various sections of the building.

"I wouldn't worry about them, Kaiba. They're long gone now," Yami Yugi assumed.

"I wouldn't be sure about that, Yugi," Ash stepped in. "Team Rocket's a lot trickier than you think, at least not like three certain goofballs we knew."

Jessie, James, and Meowth looked piqued. "Hey!"

"That's true," Brock said. "They may come back. Knowing Team Rocket they won't go down without a fight."

"Or in this case, without the Blue Eyes White Dragon and Egyptian god cards," Téa added.

"Hey, we broke into KaibaCorp, too!" Jessie hissed under her breath, piqued about being forgotten. "What are we? Chopped Magikarp liver?"

"We'll just have to keep our guard up then," Yami Yugi suggested. "In case we get any more unexpected surprises."

"Well, we saved the day again, guys," Joey said.

"We kicked that dog's hairy butt like a football!" Tristan said.

"Uh, guys, it was Ash and Yugi who saved the day, remember?' Téa said with her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah." Joey said. "But still, dat doesn't mean that we can't celebrate our glory."

"Victory party!" Tristan declared.

He, Joey, and Max formed a dancing circle and performed song of victory as they did before. "_Can-can, kick a little can-can, tell me who's the man-man, we kicked a ton of itty bitty cans-cans-_"

While the others were a slight embarrassed by their friends' repeat concert, the rest were rather amused.

But Brock decided to join the fun. "What the heck." He jumped in and added himself in the circle. "_Can-can, kick a little can-can, tell me who's the man-man, we totally kicked all the way to Japan-Pan!_"

"I've got to get some female friends," Téa shook her head while May sighed. Ash and Yami chuckled.

* * *

Little were the group aware of, they were being surveilled through thermal binoculars by Billy and Kidd who were outside of KaibaCorp in their motorcycles. "Hmm. Well, what do you know? Those fools did make it out of that virtual dome in one piece," Kidd said. "Persistent bunch, ain't they?"

"Duh, that's good, right?" Billy said. "If those kids had gone down with the dogs, we wouldn't be achieve something what we want."

"Indeed, plus they saved us the trouble of finding out Cerberus' true power." Kidd said. "If that was just the video game version of it, then imagine if we capture the real thing." He smirked in malevolence. "We could have all the power in the world."

Billy chuckled malevolently. "Those little brats won't have much a chance once we grab a hold of the Ball of the Underworld. Heh heh heh!" He then looked at his partner questionably. "Duh, but it was only a video game boss, right Kidd?"

"Of course it was just a video game boss, ya nitwit." His small partner returned with annoyance. "However it does conceive us an advantage." He moved the thermal binoculars back to his eyes to observe some more.

* * *

Later, things have finally quieted down at the KaibaCorp laboratory. Roland and the gang of suits stood guard of the room, making sure there won't be more chaos. A janitorial crew were summoned to the technology room to clean up the mess while the scientists performed a full analysis on the virtual hard drive, searching for any malware.

Meanwhile, Ash, Yugi, and the gang took five and recall their adventure in the Pocket Monster world. "Well, that was an interesting adventure," Ash said, sitting down on the floor. "Who ever thought that video game testing could be so dangerous?"

"Pika." It sat down next to its owner.

"Tell me about it," Yugi said, sitting next to his comrade. "Of course, it was no different when we had to rescue Kaiba from another dimension or duel against the villainous Big Five who tried to take over our bodies and escape to the real world."

"Don't remind me," Tristan grumbled. He still hadn't gone over of when one of the Big Five took over his body and he was trapped in a body of a monkey robot.

"We had a lot of close calls, but this one was the biggest." Téa added. "I thought we were Cerberus chow."

"I could use a day at a spa," May said, brushing her brown locks.

"I could use a extra long chilidog with a large order of fries and a drink," Joey said. "I've been dying for some real food."

"I don't ever wanna move from this spot," Brock moaned, sitting comfortably on the floor after a perilous adventure.

"Well, I hope you children had an amusingly good time," Pegasus stepped in, trying to lighten things up. "I understand that you're still shaken up from the last battle. But not to worry, we still have that new theme park in development coming up, and I assure that it will be safer...hopefully."

The youth glared at him with annoyance, fed up with his light promises. "Remind me ta sock him in left eye where his Millennium Eye usta be," Joey muttered.

"Pika."

The scientists finally finished analyzing the computer base and turned to their bosses with the results. "Everything is in order, sir." A male scientist with the clipboard reported. "The data files are restored, the boot sector is running, and the motherboard is clear of junk data."

"And the virus? Did you find out where it came from?" Kaiba asked.

"Well, uh..." The scientist hesitated. "Actually, Mr. Kaiba, we couldn't find anything wrong with the machines. There's no trace of the virus."

"What?" The Kaiba brothers spoke up in surprise.

"After you and the testers passed through the final level, that virus or whatever infected the computer system has just disappeared." The female scientist confirmed.

"Preposterous! Viruses don't just appear and then disappear whenever they please!" Kaiba snapped, his voice scaring the employees. "You call yourselves scientists?! Track that thing down at once!"

"Easy, Seto. Remember your temper." Mokuba calmed his older brother.

"Boy, Kaiba. Your company's full of issues," Joey piped up. "Either you need new employees or you gotta pay more attention ta ya workplace and less on ya ego."

"Why don't you keep that muzzle of yours shut and mind your own business, Wheeler?" Kaiba returned coolly.

"It's not my fault your new toys always come out with bugs," Joey retorted.

"And it's certainly not my fault that you're still as dimwitted as a dog and you'll always will be." Kaiba served that one.

Joey growled in ire. "One of these days, I'm gonna bite him in da butt!" He said through his gritted teeth. The others chuckled.

"The only thing I liked about participating in a virtual run was getting to know Duel Monsters," Ash brought up, raising the duel disk still on his forearm. "I especially had a great time dueling against Billy and Kidds and their dumb monsters!"

"Pi Pi Pikachu!"

"I agree," Yugi said. "We make a pretty good team, don't we Ash?"

"Yeah!" Ash beamed and put his arm around his friend's shoulders. "With Dark Magician and Wattsquirrel on our side, we're unstoppable!"

"Ha ha! Oh yeah!"

"Pikachu!" It jumped between them, completing the pose of teamwork.

"Those guys are unstoppable duo!" Tristan smiled.

"Our boys may have come from different worlds, but they're on the same page," Brock said. "They both monster passionates."

"'Specially when it involves dueling and Pokémon battles," Joey added.

"I love the part when they summoned Wizard Mouse and zapped Team Rocket's monsters like they were nothing" Max said. "That was stupendously awesome!"

"Sure was!" May agreed. She sighed dreamily. "I think I found some that I can my fire with." She eyed on Yugi lovingly.

"Watch it," Téa warned.

Ash dug into his back pocket and pulled out the card of Wattsquirrel. "Here your card back, Yugi. Thanks for lending it to me but I'm going to stick with Pokémon. Playing with Duel Monsters is fun, but it's my dream to become a Pokémon master."

"Yeah, I understand. " Yugi said. Ash handed the Wattsquirrel card to him but he pushed it back. "Keep it, Ash, for good luck."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ash agreed and kept the card in his hand. "I'm gonna need all the luck on the rest of my journey." His face then sunk in despondency, remembering something. "That is, if we can get back to Poké world. We're still stuck in Domino City with no money."

"Pika, Pika." Its ears lowered down gloomily.

Yugi looked at them pityingly. "Oh yeah, that's right. You guys got here by mistake."

"And you got no way to get back." Tristan added.

The Poké gang were starting to feel homesick. "Poor guys," Téa said.

"You must really miss Poké World," Joey said.

"We'll be fine," May said softly, trying to hide her worry.

"Well, we have good news for you, guys!" Mokuba stepped in. "We booked you a ride back home by ship. So be at the Domino Pier in one hour."

The trainers exulted with excitement. "Really? Awesome!" Ash grinned with joy.

"Pika, Pika!" It jumped up and down with joy.

"We're going back to the Poké world!" May cheered.

"That's great!" Yugi said.

"You'll be home in no time!" Téa beamed.

"Thanks, guys," Ash smiled.

"Pika, Pika!"

Everyone was excited that the Pokémon trainers were going back to their home sides of the world.

"Pika, Pika!"

Ash then smirked at his spiky-haired friend. "You know, Yugi, if I was a full-time duelist, I would have wipe the floor with you in a instant."

"Oh yeah?" Yugi smirked back. "Why don't you and I have a little friendly duel right now and see who's the best?

"Okay, then, you're on!" Ash chuckled confidently. He and Yugi shuffled their card decks and placed them into the slots.

They took a few steps back from each other, engaging in a friendly duel. Almost everyone gathered round to see.

"Looks like Ash and Yugi are going to duel," Brock said.

Mokuba turned his head and noticed. "Oh, this I gotta see!" He looked with interest and hurried over there.

"Pika, Pika!" It jumped on to Ash's shoulders, ready to participate.

"Go get him!" Max cheered for both of his friends.

"First things first," Yugi halted for a minute to switch bodies with the pharaoh through the Millennium Puzzle. "Yu-Gi-Oh!"

Ash chuckled jauntily. "You may have your partner, Yugi, but so do I!" He referred to his furry partner on his shoulder.

"Pikachu."

"Well then, then let's duel!" Yami Yugi declared.

"Hold it!" A halting shout came from Roland who stepped in between the face-offs. "We just cleaned this place up." He pointed firmly. "If you two wanna duel, take it to the dueling ring!"

A second later, the group was moved into the KaibaCorp dueling arena where Ash and the pharaoh stood in opposites sides of the dueling floor, facing each other.

Their life points have reseted to 4000. "LET'S DUEL!" They both stated together and raised their duel disks. The friends cheered from the benches.

"Go get him, Yugi!"

"We're all rooting for you, Ash!"

"Both of you guys, good luck!"


	20. Bakura Takes Poké Correl

**God rest those poor innocent souls of Paris. I can't imagine anyone commiting such horrific atrocity to France. I hope those terrorist get what they deserve. Let us pray for Paris. **

**PEACE**

Meanwhile in Pallet Town, Delia Ketchum, the mother of Ash was doing housework around her home, vacuuming the living room. Her Pokémon, Mr. Mime is helping out by dusting the furniture and placing a vase of flowers on the coffee table. Delia hummed merrily over the loud suctioning noise. The television set was on while she worked, showing the Poké News.

Delia sighed wearily as she wiped across her forehead. "Phew! The house is so empty with Ash and his friends traveling, and yet there's always a speck of dust that needed to be cleaned."

"Mister Mime."

"In breaking news today, the Ball of the Underworld, an ancient artifact that was recently discovered in Egypt was stolen late last night from the Dynamo City Museum." An anchorwoman reported from the T.V. screen. "The first burglars who broke into the display room earlier were find lying on the floor unconscious, along with a team of security who rushed into the scene. The cause of this was unknown."

"Huh?" Delia switched off the vacuum cleaner to listen.

"At that time, Ball of the Underworld taken by the another unknown intruder who disappeared from museum without a trace."

"It doesn't stop there. Ever since that heist at the museum, strange and eerie things have spread across the Poké nation. Dozens of Pokémon trainers have fallen into mysterious comas." The newscaster continued. "Their Pokémon were either been stolen from or sudden change of behavior."

Delia and Mr. Mime gasped in awe.

"There have been reports that wild Pokémon have attacked townspeople out of unknown reason." The anchorwoman added in. "It is unconfirmed who or what is behind all this. We advised all Pokémon trainers to use caution, watch for signs..."

"Mister Mime?" It asked questionably.

Delia tsked and shook her head in disbelief. "Those crazy news station! They're so full of gossip! They would say anything to get ratings nowadays."

"Mime, Mime!" It nodded in agreement.

Just then, they heard a doorbell rang. "Huh?" They turned around in response. There was then knocking in the front door. "I wonder who could that be?" Delia asked. She went to go answer it.

The knocking resumed, growing louder. "I'm coming!" She hollered as she hurried to the front doot. "Hold your horses!"

She finally opened it. "Yes? Can I help you?" She then gasped in alarm when she saw who was standing at the door.

A teenage boy with long shaggy white hair and in a slate sweatshirt was leaning on the doorway, breathing laboriously. "Please...I'm...I'm...lost..." He gasped out. His head was sagging low so Delia couldn't make out who he is. "I've...been travelng for like ever and...I don't know where I am.."

Delia continued staring at him. Mr. Mime joined its owner at the door. "Mr. Mime?" It then noticed a golden ring with prongs dangling from the white-haired boy's neck. It is Ryou Bakura from the dueling world!

"Please...I...unhhh..." He moaned sickly and keeled over before he could finish.

Delia caught him in time. "Oh, you poor thing! You must be dehydrated!" She exclaimed as she felt his forehead. "Let's get you inside!" Delia pulled Bakura inside the house. The evil Pokémon the evil was controlling remained outside the house, awaiting their master.

"Mr. Mime, help me get him on the couch."

"Mr. Mime!" He and his trainer escorted the ailing boy to living room sofa and laid him down there on his back.

"You just lie right here. I'll get some water." Delia dashed right into the kitchen while Mr. Mime kept an eye on the sleeping Bakura.

Delia grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up with water. She rushed back to the living room and tried to give to Bakura. "Here, honey, drink this."

Bakura groaned in his sleep. His eyes squeezed tight, gritting his teeth and shed beads of sweat from underneath his white bangs. He was unable to take anything due to his conflict within the spirit within.

"No...leave them...out of this!" He cried out in affliction. "They...haven't done...anything to YOU!"

Delia and Mr. Mime gasped and gaped with concern. "Oh dear, he must be in worse shape than I thought! We must cool down his fever!"

"Mister Mime!" Mister Mime agreed and gave a towel rag to his owner. She damped the towel with water and placed it on Bakura's forehead. He breathed harder as he struggled to regain consciousness.

To their unawareness, a tall invisible shadow shaping like a canine lurched them from behind and opened its long toothy muzzle, snarling silently. It was about to take a 'bite' out of them when Bakura gasped and opened his eyes. The shadow dog behind the folks vanished at once when the light side of Bakura took over. The first face he saw was Delia who was looking down at him, along with Mr. Mime.

"Are you okay, hon?" She asked in concern. "You passed out and were having a bad dream."

Bakura sat up. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Ketchum residence," Delia answered. "You passed out and we got you over to the couch."

"I'm fine now, thank you." The boy replied, rubbing his head. "Sorry for barging into your house unannounced. I hope I didn't freak you out."

"Where did you come from?" Delia asked.

"Well, um, I'm from the other side," Bakura answered. She is unaware that the boy laying on the couch is from the Dueling side of the world. "I remember riding a bus, all the way here, it was a long drive." Bakura reminisced. "I got off, I was walking down a dirt road, and then..." He paused as he looked at his Millennium Ring. "Everything got all dark. Then next thing I knew, I was standing outside your porch, feeling a bit woozy."

Delia looked sympathetic. "You poor thing! Why don't you stay here awhile until you feel better?" She offered kindly.

"Thanks, though I don't want to be a burden to you and your Mr. Mime," Bakura smiled.

"It's no burden at all," Delia said warmly. "We're always happy to lend a hand to a lost traveller in need."

"Bakura." The white-haired British boy blurted out his name.

"I'm sorry?" Delia didn't catch that.

"Ahem. My name is Bakura, ma'am." He introduced himself in his usually charming voice. "Just in case you want to know."

"Oh. Well, that's a nice name. You just make yourself right at home, Bakura." Delia smiled as she headed toward the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mrs, uh..."

"You can call me Mrs. Ketchum."

Bakura smiled back warmly. "Would you like some help around the kitchen, Mrs. Ketchum?"

"Oh, how sweet of you to ask, but I got Mr. Mime on the job."

"Mime, Mime, Mime." It beamed cheerfully and followed its owner.

Bakura swung his legs off the couch and scanned his surroundings. He then noticed a picture of Ash Ketchum and his traveling companions. "Hmm?" He got off and examined closer at the photo. _This boy...he looks oddly familiar_. He thought to himself. He then saw that boy in the picture evidently resembled the Pokémon traveller from five thousand years ago. His brown eye scrunched down in resentment.

Delia returned to the living room with a tray of cookies, two ceramic cups and a teapot. "Pardon me, but may I ask who is this boy in the picture?" Bakura asked in his sweet voice.

"Oh that is my son, Ash." The red-haired woman replied.

"Ash, huh?" Bakura repeated. "As in Ash Ketchum? He's your son?" He asked in surprise.

"Have you meet him?"

"No, but I did see his face somewhere, sometime..." Bakura answered mystifyingly.

"Well, he and his friends are currently traveling in the Kanto region, battling the Battle Frontier." She answered.

"So, I see. I would have loved to meet this kid," Bakura said. The spirit's eyes glared in hatred. _That wretched traveler had interfered on my quest 5,000 years ago._ He thought in memory lane.

_But before I came to Egypt, I, Bakura, the king of thieves, met with Brutus, the leader of the old Team Rocket who hunted for rare Pokémon. I struck a deal with them. All they had to do was create wreck havoc in Egypt so that I could infiltrate the tomb of the pharaohs without being detected and they could steal the Pokémon in the process._

He had a flashback of him penetrating the late pharaoh's tombs while ancient Team Rocket terrorized and poached the citizens' Pokémon before being stopped by the brave traveller and his Pikachu. He was then confronted by the pharaoh and banished him to humiliating defeat.

_I would have succeeded if those weaklings hadn't lost and got their souls sent to the Shadow Realm at the hands that meddlesome brat and his lightning rodent. And the pharaoh wouldn't have stopped me. But it ended too soon and Cerberus would have had everything if those blasted duo hadn't interferred again and seal him in this Ball of the Underworld! But I will take care of it soon enough. _He thought as he felt the rusty Ball of the Underworld in his pocket.

"Oh Bakura?" Delia cut through his thought.

"Huh? I'm sorry?" Bakura snapped out of it.

"I was trying to ask you if you want some tea and cookies," Delia said.

"Oh, uh, sure. Why not." He went over there to sit down at the coffee table.

"Mimie, would you mind pouring Bakura some tea?" Delia requested her Pokémon.

"Mime, Mime." It was about to tip the teapot when it sensed something is wrong. "Mime, Mime?" It sensed a hint of evil presenting, coming out of Bakura's exposed Millennium Ring. It sensed that the white-haired guest may not be an ordinary kid. There is an evil spirit hosting inside him who chuckled sinisterly.

"_You better hurry up and give me my tea, Mimie, or bad things will happen!" _He planned on taking control on it as he did with the other Pokémon.

"Mime, Mime, Mime!" It fearfully backed away from the white-haired kid as if he was a dangerous poacher instead of a normal kid.

"Mister Mimie, what's wrong?

"Mime, Mime!" It shook its head fearfully, refusing to go near the spirit.

"That's weird, Mr. Mime loves houseguests." Delia said. "He wouldn't stop being so hospitable." She poured the right ounce of green liquid into two ceramic cups herself.

Bakura shrugged. "I'm sure whatever it is, it's probably just chaffing around." He purposely knocked over his a ceramic cup, spilling tea across the table and soaking up the cookies . "Oh dear. How clumsy of me. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about that, Bakura. I got this." She stood over the table to clean up the mess.

With Delia's attention averted, Bakura's eyes lowered down in deviousness as he conspired something diabolical. He reached inside his pocket to check on his possession. His sinister smirk struck across his face as he secretly planted a dark spell inside Delia's tea cup. Mr. Mime looked at him suspiciously, wondering what is he doing.

"Here we go," she finished and turned back to her guest who acted casual.

"Here's your cup, Mrs. Ketchum," Bakura held out the tea cup.

"Oh, you can have it, Bakura."

"Are you sure? We can't let this go to waste. Plus, you need to keep hydrated." Bakura persuaded. "A pretty woman like yourself must stay healthy."

Delia looked flattered. "Well, I suppose I should take a sip..." She was about to take the cursed cup from his hand when Mr. Mime Doubleslapped it right out of Bakura's hand. It crashed and spilled all over the carpet once more. Bakura gasped in surprise.

"Mr. Mime, why did you do that?" Delia demanded.

"Mime, Mime, Mime!" It tried to tell her that the boy in front of her is trying to harm her.

"Gosh, all I was doing was trying to be nice." Bakura pretended to be hurt.

"Mime, Mime, Mime!" It denied that he is lying.

Not buying it, Delia frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "Mr. Mime, that was very rude." She scolded. "You apologize to Bakura right now!"

"Mime, Mime, Mime!" It refused.

"Well, if you're not going to apologize, then leave the living room until you're ready to be nice!"

"Mime, Mime, Mime!" It looked angry and hurt. It stomped on upstairs.

"I'm so deeply sorry, Bakura." Delia bowed down in apology. "I really don't know what's its problem. It usually doesn't usually act like that."

"Don't worry, about it, Mrs. Ketchum, I'm quite used to it." He bent down on the floor to clean up the mess.

"Oh, you don't have to clean it up, Bakura. I'll take care of it." Delia kindly volunteered.

"Very well," Bakura stood by innocently. His spirited evil eyes glared viciously as his plan was foiled.

Delia got up and noticed a basket of cookies and sheets of paper sitting on another table. "Oh my goodness! I forgot I was supposed to deliver those cookies and research papers to Professor Oak."

Bakura rose his eyebrows. "Did you say Professor Oak?" Bakura repeated.

"Why, yes. That's what I said."

"Why don't I deliver the basket, Mrs. Ketchum," Bakura offered kindly. "I feel a little better and I've always wanted to meet the famous Professor Oak in person.

"You do that for me?" Delia's auburn's eyes sparkled in gratitude.

"It's the least I can," the handsome snow-haired boy beamed. "_Perfect! Professor Oak's laboratory is the jackpot of Pokémon. I'll seize control every one of those vermin and force information out of that old coot. _Theevil_ spirit _thought_._ _He will have no choice but to give me the key so I can free Cerberus from his prison and we will lay waste on the wretched world of Pokémon and Duel Monsters!_

Later, Bakura was outside of the Ketchum home with the basket of treats and sheets. "Be careful on the way there, Bakura. I hear there have been some strange events going on lately." Delia advised.

"Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Ketchum. I will. Take care and thanks for the hospitality." Bakura waved goodbye and departed.

"Bye!" She waved. "What a polite young man!" She thought out loud dreamily. "I wish Ash could be more like that."

As he strolled down the dirt road, Yami Bakura smirked as his plan has been reset into action. His possessed Pokémon followed along. "Stay where you are, Pokémon. Make sure everything goes according to plan." He ordered. The Pokémon obeyed and scattered, affecting the other creatures that are outside in Pallet Town.

_What a fool that lady was!,_He thought as he envisioned Delia carrying the cursed teacup to the sink. _She doesn't realize that I put a ticking bomb in her home. When the time is ripe, she and her pathetic mime will fall prey to my magic and they'll do my bidding against their will, just like like every Pokémon I plan to possess! Heh heh heh heh!_ He looked at the sheets of paper which contained the research information about the Ball of the Underworld. "Until then, Cerberus will have to wait..." He looked down at his pocket which received an glowing response from within.

* * *

"I play Card Sniper!" A trap card opened up from Ash's side of the field and a mechanic robot emerged and fired a metal pellet at Yami's facedown card, shooting it off the field.

"Ha! I knew you were going to play Multiply! That's an old trick in the book!" Ash smirked as he noticed the picture.

"Pika!"

"On the contrary, that wasn't what I was planning to using that card in the first place," Yami smiled deviously. "That was just to throw you off track."

"Huh?"

"I use Five-Star Twilight!" Yami presented his magic card. "To sacrifice my Jack's Knight to bring the five Kuriboh brothers!" At the immediate effect of the spell card, Jack's Knight disappeared and five different colored hairballs that resembled Kuriboh.

"Hey, more Kuribohs!" Max said.

"Aw! They're all so cute!" May said.

"Ha! They won't stand a chance against my monster!" Ash returned.

"Pikachu!"

"I'm not finished yet." Yami wagged his finger. "With Kuribah's special ability, I combine the five Kuriboh brothers in..." The furry quintuplets gathered up and merged together into one larger glaucous hairy monster with two feet, fangs, and a long horn on its forehead. "Kuribabylon!"

"Now that one, not so cute!" Max commented.

"Kuribabylon, charge against Ash's Ultimate Baseball Kid!" Yami declared the attack. The oversized mop monster thrusted its long pointy horn against the young baseball player.

"Uh-oh!" Max exclaimed.

"Not so fast! You triggered my trap card!" Ash declared as he pulled up his facedown card. "Sharpening Skills!"

"It'll give Baseball Kid's more attack power to block your Horn Attack!"

CLASH! Ultimate Baseball Kid stopped Kuribabylon's spired thrust using his indurated titanium spiked bat.

"Nice defense!" Tristan exclaimed.

"And since I have a fire monster on my field, Ultimate Baseball Kid gains 1000 more attacks." Ash described.

"Nice," Brock commented.

"Now Ultimate Baseball Kid, attack Kuribabylon!"

"Pikachu!"

The fire baseball player swung his bat and smashed Kuribabylon to bits, reducing the pharaoh's life points to 3800.

"Alright, Ash!" The friends cheered.

"No, Yugi!" May cried.

"Nice work, Ash." Yami accredited. "But this duel's far from finished!"

"Then I'll be ready!" Ash smirked.

"Pikachu!"

"Be careful, Ash. The pharaoh is pretty cocky and knows what he's doing," Brock warned.

"Don't worry about me," Ash replied.

"I hope so," Brock said.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was searching in the vacate hallways of KaibaCorp, opening door-to-door. "Um, Jessie, what are we looking for?" James inquired.

"While we're still here, we could still find something appealing of KaibaCorp and we can ship it to the Boss," Jessie replied.

"Again? I thought we were going to ditch this dump and get back to Poké world," James whined.

"You want to get back on the Boss' good side, don't you? We can't leave here empty-handed." Jessie said, feeling impatient.

"In case you've forgotten, KaibaCorp doesn't contain any Pokémon. Only Duel Monsters," Meowth reminded. "Besides, we've seen enough monsters already." He shuddered at the memory of their ordeal.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm getting tired of this mess!" James griped.

"Oh, stuff your whining, you big babies!" Jessie snapped. "Our rivals got dueling cards, so we have to build our own decks!"

"But we're not built to become duelists," James said. "Training to become trainers were hard enough."

"Hang on," Meowth interrupted. "What if we deliver those Egyptian God cards and Blue Eyes White Dragon to the Boss first?"

"Hmm?" His human partners listened carefully.

"Think about it, Bozzy and Clyde were after the Egyptian god cards and Green-Eyed Monster, right?"

"Billy and Kidd," James corrected.

"And that's pronounced 'Blue Eyes'," Jessie added.

"Whatever. Anyway, now with those clowns evacuated from the building, now's our chance to take those legendary monsters ourselves and give them to the Boss." Meowth devised. "If we do a good job, he'll have to give Billy and Kidd the boot and promote us in their place as both Pokémon trainers and unstoppable duelists! We'll be rewarded so handsome that we can even afford our own villa!"

"Whooo!" James and Jessie praised with excitement. "Big promotion here we come!"

"Wobbuffet!

* * *

Meanwhile at the Pokémon laboratory, things are pretty peaceful at the time. Dozens of caught Pokémon including Ash's were lounging at the Oak Corral in several habitats. Young ones were playing around and playfully sparred each other, a couple of Nidorans were interacting lovingly with each other, water-type Pokémon were swimming in the lake (a Dewgong jumped up and splashed into the water), and herd of Taurus sprinted across the fields. Mankey and Aipom picked fruits right off the trees to eat while bug Pokémon munched on leaves. Ash's Snorlax napped in the feeding groves as usual. Bayleaf praticed its Razor Leaf while Noctowl and several flocks of bird Pokémon fluttered about and Bulbasaur was keeping the peace between the feuding grass Pokémon and Heracross was sucking sap from a tree. So nothing much has changed.

Inside, Professor Samuel Oak was at his research office, typing on his computer. His lab assistant Tracey Sketchit came in with a tray of sandwiches, snacks, and milk. "Here's your lunch, Professor."

"Thank you, Tracey. Just put it right there."

Tracey placed the lunch tray down next to the computer. "What are you working on today? More Pokémon?"

"Actually, I'm studying something new. An old friend of mine was researching the sites of Ancient Egypt and sent me this picture of the Ball of the Underworld he discovered underground." The professor answered.

"The Ball of the Underworld?" Tracey repeated.

On the computer screen, there was a full description of the dark-colored mystical orb corresponding to a archaic Poké ball.

"I think I've heard of this story," Tracey pointed out. "Isn't it the one when an ancient pharaoh of Egypt locked away the dark magic and saved the world?"

"Not quite, Tracey. This one is actual different," Professor Oak answered. "This takes place before the pharaoh even ruled Egypt."

"Oh. I must have mistaken for something else."

"According to Professor Hawkins' research, this object in the picture is called the Ball of the Underworld. It is said that it contains the immoral and unstoppable monster called Cerberus."

"Cerberus?"

"Cerberus was a three-headed devil dog that nearly wiped out mankind 5,000 years ago and was sealed away by two brave heroes."

"According to legend, both Pokemon and Duel Monsters used to live in harmony in Egypt before Cerberus rose up from the Shadow Realm."

"I heard of Duel Monsters. Weren't they created by Maximillion Pegasus on the other side of the world?"

"Pokémon trainers and monster duelists had many conflicts about which of their fighting monsters were better and were divided into two parts of the world after the ramoage of Cerberus." Professor Oak concluded. "And now I'm trying to figure out why. It may have something to do with that Ball of the Underworld and I'm trying to unlock its secrets."

"I wonder what's it like to visit on the other side of the world?" Tracey thought out loud. "Would they be like Pokémon, only nastier?"

"I need those research papers so I can learn more about the mystery that happed in Egypt, but I don't have them with me. I'm waiting for someone to deliver them to me."

Suddenly, they heard a doorbell from the front door. "I'll get it!" Tracey volunteered and scurried downstairs.

Professor Oak continued studying the Ball picture closely. "Hmm..." His eyebrows lowered down in deep thought.

Behind him, the tomb guardian spirit Shadi reappeared in the middle of the research floor.

"All this historic enigma is giving me a migraine. It's all so mind-boggling!" Professir Oak rubbed his gray hair roughly.

Just then Shadi spoke to him. "You must relax your mind, answers will come to you in due time."

"Huh?" The old man looked up in response.

"You must be wary though, the danger of the future is drawing near. You must be careful." Shadi sent one last message before disappearing.

"Is someone there?" Professor Oak turned his chair around. But he found that there was no one in the room besides him. "Weird. I thought I heard someone was here." He scratched his white hair. "Must have been my imagination."

"I'm back, Professor." A familiar voice occurred from downstairs.

Tracey has returned to the laboratory with a handful of white papers...followed a white-haired stranger carrying a basket. "And there is someone here to see you."

"Oh?" Professor Oak looked up.

Tracey turned to the white-haired visitor. "Go on, tell him who you are."

Bakura shyly stepped forward. "Hello, Professor Oak. My name is Bakura." He bowed down.

"He said he's from the other side of the world," Tracey informed.

Professor Oak looked amused. "Is that so?"

"How do you do, Professor Oak?" Bakura beamed friendlily. "I've heard so much about you, I'd traveled all this way to see you in person. I decided I wanted to be a Pokémon trainer so I'd thought I'd come here for some inspiration." He played oit as he displayed his six Poké balls on his belt (which he stole from previous trainers).

"You're like me, Bakura," Tracey said. "Professor Oak's is one of my heroes too. I'm his assistant, Tracey."

"Nice to meet you too, Tracey." Bakura shook his hand.

"Thanks for delivering the research papers to us, Bakura." Professor Oak gratified. "Now I can finish my research."

"By any chance you're looking up the Ball of the Underworld?" Bakura asked.

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact. A friend of mine from Egypt thought I could solve the mystery of the Ball of the Underworld since I happened to be an expert on Pokémon." Professor Oak said.

"Really? Well, you know, Cerberus is not actually a Pokémon, at all." Bakura put in. "He was created out of the body of Zorc to guard the Shadow Realm. He wasn't just a three-headed dog, he was an unstoppable and highly functional demon with a remarkable sense of battle direction and can duel. He was worshipped by the oldest Team Rocket in ancient Rome. They marched down to Egypt, hoping to catch some rare Pokémon and send lots of souls to the Shadow Realm to awaken the great beast."

"The leader of Team Rocket lost his soul at the hands of that traveler and ended up being the sacrifice of Cerberus awakening."

Professor Oak and Tracey looked amazed.

"They also say he was the reason two worlds of Pokémon and Duel Monsters split up after the pharaoh and traveler imprisoned him in the Ball of the Underworld. As long as Cerberus is remained sealed inside the ball, the whole world will remain in balance and harmony."

"Wow, I'm pretty impressed by your knowledge, Bakura." Professor Oak recommended. "You might put me out of the job."

"Oh, I couldn't impose," Bakura said coyly. "Though I would love to learn about the Ball of the Underworld."

"You're more than welcome to stay with us, Bakura," Tracey said.

"Really? That would be great." The British boy grinned. "I've always had an eye for Pokémon."

"Me too." Tracey put his arm around him. "Did I mention that I was a Pokémon watcher and I loved to sketch them?"

"Really? I'd like to see them."

"You two sound alike," Professor Oak observed. "You two could be cousins."

"Would you like to see Pokémon?" Tracey offered.

Bakura hesitated. "Oh no, I shouldn't."

"Why not? I'm sure the Pokémon will love you. It'll be fun." Tracey took the snow-haired boy's hand.

"Just how many species of Pokémon do you carry here?" Bakura asked curiously.

"Oh, a lot." Tracey answered simply. "You'd be surprised how many trainers have bought over and how we managed to fit them all in this lab."

"I'd like to find out." Bakura smirked cunningly. His Millennium Ring jiggled animatedly. As if were his signal, shadowy canines appeared in the walls and brushed through rooms, passing the unsuspecting professor and Pokémon watcher.

In several parts of the lab, some of the Pokémon sensed that something was very wrong. They felt a sinister presence growing near. In the shadows, a pair of red eyes flared, belonging to a pack of shadow Pokémon ready to take on the innocent ones. In the hallways, Tracey's trio of Pokémon, Syther, Marrill, and Venonat also felt a chilling disturbance. The leading shadow alpha slithered through the dark walls and infiltrated inside the generator room and started tampering the wires,

The lights in the room flickered on and off. "Huh?" The two people looked up. In the temporarily blackout, Bakura had disappeared from that spot.

"Did you forget to pay the light bill?" Tracey asked.

As what happened in KaibaCorp, the electronics in the room started malfunctioning out of control. The computer that Professor Oak was working on started flipping. "What in the world?" The elder man sputtered.

Suddenly, there was a loud piercing screech that assaulted everyone's ears. Professor Oak and Tracey yelled in pain as they tried to shield their ears.

Somewhere in the lab, Bakura walked down the dark hallways, all set on his manifestation. "The fun has only just begun." He snickered to himself. "All shadow minions, make yourselves right at home!" He pulled out the Ball of Underworld from his sweatshirt and black shapes emerged from the surface of the orb and scattered.

Outside in the Oak Correl, the unsuspecting Pokémon were at their usual regions when several shadow hellhounds lurked about amd entered the minds of Pokémon. Each and every one of them all fell into slavery of the shadow monster. Their eyes glowed red as they are at the command of the Yami spirit. Dark Bakura stepped outside where he was acquainted by his enslaved subjects. "Hello, my pets." He greeted and petted Stanler. "Know where I can find a few more extras?"

Led by a Shiftry, Dark Bakura entered the storage room where it was packed with Poké balls. "Excellent. I've hit the jackpot."

"Muk!" The guarding sludge Muk tried to smuggle the white-haired thief. But Yami Bakura hissed and counterattacked with the power of his Millennium Ring. Muk immediately fell under his spell and slithered off him.

"Blasted Muk!" He growled, as he brushed himself. "Trying to keep me from my destiny!"

He placed the Ball of the Underworld in the middle of the floor and dark purple electrical sparks shot out and contacted every single Poké ball, possessing the Pokémon within.

"And now, Cerberus. Choose and select each and every one of your slaves! Soon, nothing will be able to stop you! Heck, nothing will stop _me_! Victory is MINE!" Yami Bakura laughed maniacally. "HA HA HA HA! AH HA HA HA HA!"


	21. A Journey Back Home

**Sorry for the wait. Had to make a couple of slight updates in some chapters to make sure the story stays true to the plot.**

**Enjoy and Peace**

**P. S. I'm planning on posting a new (and rewritten) story soon that's based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen and a bit of Frozen since the cold winter season is coming up. Hopefully, I can post a first chapter of it tomorrow.**

Meanwhile, the duel back was about to draw to a close. "It's been fun, but I've got to wrap this duel up!" Ash declared. "Me and my friends have to get back to the Poké world ASAP!"

"Pikachu!"

"There's plenty of time, friend," Yami pointed. "Of course, time has run out for you when I play this one facedown and end my turn."

"I sacrifice my Karate Man and Scrap Goblin to ritual summon...Hungry Burger!" From that spot where Ash's monsters used to be, an overly supersized mutant hamburger with razor-sharp teeth popped up and growled ferociously, salivating ketchup and mustard. "Hungry Burger will take a bite out of your Beta Magnet Warrior!"

CHOMP!" Hungry Burger clamped down on the yellow robot in its toothy buns and gulped it down, eliminating 1600 of the pharaoh's life points.

"Dude, monster patty has sunk its teeth into the pharaoh's life points!" Tristan said.

"Ash has got killer monsters," Joey said. "It'll probably be a close duel."

"You go, Ash!" Max cheered.

"You're good, Ash." Yami accredited. "But now I activate my trap card, Brain Control!"

"What's that?" Ash asked curiously.

"At the cost of 800 life points, it allows me to choose which monster to control..." His eyes scanned on the field. "And I choose your Hungry Burger!" (His life points reduced to 2000.) The enlarged human brain emerging from the card glowed purple and Hungry Burger started acting strangely.

"Hey, what's happening to my Hungry Burger?" Ash spoke up.

"Pika?"

"It's under my control now," Yami declared. "With three monsters on the field, I can special summon a powerful monster that blew your monsters away."

"Whatever monster you're summoning, I can handle it," Ash returned.

"Pika, Pika!" It nodded.

High above in the arena, Jessie, James, and Meowth balanced on beam ceiling, holding bags and a vacuum cleaner. "Alright, the duel is still on." The sassy red-haired girl said. "All we had to do is bungee jump from here and grab that Pikachu and god cards.

The two boys nodded. "This would be easy if I'm not so afraid of heights." Meowth said.

The pharaoh chuckled dexterously. "I hope you prepared to lose, Ash, because I've saving this special card for you...and you're about to be schooled of the old days of dueling." His eyes narrowed in a cunning way.

"Bring it on! " Ash's brown eyes flared with bravery.

"Pikachu."

"Ash seems pretty confident," Mokuba said. "Either that or he absolutely have no clue of what coming to him."

"I know that look." Kaiba observed Yami's features. "He's about to summon a god card."

Yami Yugi held the selected card in his hand and placed it in the slot. "I sacrifice my Des Volstgalph, my Feral Imp, and your Hungry Burger..." He paused as magical sparks from the duel disk.

The breeze blew inside the dueling arena and the lights flickered. Everyone except Kaiba looked up and anticipated in wonder. Ash and Pikachu stood there as they witnessed the most incredible scene of their life. A stupendously red long body of garnet scales rose up from an open portal on the playing field, its enormous shadow clouded over the speechless trainers. The impressive magnetic force literally blew away the stunned Team Rocket off the beam ceiling and carried them up higher...and through the roof of the dueling arena.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF ONCE MORE!" They screamed as they shoot across across the sky and soared over Domino City, falling straight between two warehouses near Domino Pier.

In the alleys, two former regional champions, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood were hanging out at the dumpster, looking gloomy and grouchy as usual. "Huh?" They saw shadows approaching on the surface of the green lid and looked up and saw three figures closing in on them. They then exclaimed in surprise as Jessie, James, and Meowth were heading down their way, splashing into the bags of garbage. "Ooohhhh..." They groaned. Flies buzzed around the area.

"Mommy, what stinks?" Rex muttered torpidly.

POP! "Wobbuffet!" It stood on top of the knocked-out beings in the garbage.

* * *

A colossal crimson and black dragon with two mouths of razor sharp teeth, long thorns on its body, and wings floated between the dueling duo.

"Is that-" Brock, May, Max stated all together.

"That's da Slifer, the Sky Dragon!" Joey answered.

"The Egyptian god monster," Tristan added.

"That must be the one, Billy and Kidd were after," Brock said.

"You'd be surprised how many people would kill for those kind of monster cards," Téa said.

Ash and Pikachu stared at the mystical red beast, glowering over them. "Well, Ash, what do you think of my Slifer?" Yami asked.

"It's...it's...it's not so impressive!" Ash managed to speak. But the pharaoh could tell that he was feeling nervous inside.

"Heh heh heh! Wait until you see what it can do," Yami chuckled deviously. "With each card in my hand, it gains 1000 attack points!" He certified as Slifer's attack points boosted up to 4000.

"Oh no!" Ash cried in horror.

"Ash is in big trouble," Joey said.

"Don't bet on it, I will find a way to eliminate that overgrown lizard!" Ash bluffed. _What am I thinking?_ He thought. _There's no way my monsters will stand a chance against Slifer. I'm done for!_

"Pika, Pika." Although it was trying to be optimistic, it could see that there is nothing in Ash's hand that could fight against the all powerful Slifer.

"_Don't give up so easily, young traveller."_ A familiar spirit voice messaged to them.

"Huh?" Ash and Pikachu looked around in question.

"_You must be prepared for the upcoming battle, for it will be as hard as the last."_

Yami also heard that voice too. "Shadi?"

Mew flew in the picture and waved its tiny arm. When a wave of iridescences washed over the arena and the dueling heroes, time has temporarily stood still, except Ash, Yugi, and Pikachu who they felt their incarcerated links moving back in time.

_The scenery had change from dueling arena to courtyard of a royal palace. The duo viewed a playback of the pharaoh and traveler dueling each other besides them._

_"**Whoa, what's going on?" **Ash's thoughts echoed from his mind. "**Is that me?"**_

_He stared at the Pokémon traveller who indeed had a face like Ash's. He was indeed Ash's past incarnate._

**_"Pikachu?"_**

_"**We're in the past. That young traveller and I dueled before."** The pharaoh answered through his thoughts. **"But how can this be?"**_

_**"Maybe it's some sort of message?" **Ash guessed._

_Even though Pharaoh Yami had all three Egyptian god cards out in the playing field, the bold little trainer managed to find something in his hand to counterattack._

_"If I'm going to be a Pokémon Master, I will have to defeat you, Pharaoh!" The traveller of the past said determinedly._

_"That's the spirit, Cypress." The pharaoh said._

_**"Cypress?" **Ash repeated. It must be have been that traveler's name._

After the flashback ended and time returned to normal, Ash and Pikachu suddenly felt inspired. "If I'm going to be a Pokémon master, I will have to defeat you, Pharaoh! And I will! And I will take down your Slifer, one way or another!" He recites the words from his ancestor.

"Pikachu!"

"That's the spirit, Ash." Yami smirked.

"Mew." It said to itself quietly.

"What's up with Ash all of a sudden?" Brock asked.

"Maybe he's got one last trump card left," Téa guessed.

"How is Ash going to take down a strong monster like Slifer?" Tristan asked.

"Guess we'll have to find out," Max said.

"I activate Graverobber!" Ash pulled up his trap card. "It lets me select a card in your Graveyard, and I choose your Dark Magician!"

At the sound of his command, the pharaoh's favorite monster appeared on Ash's side of the field.

"Ash has gotten control Yugi's Dark Magician!" Brock declared.

"Now that your Magician is on my side of the field, I can play Polymerization and fused together into..."

Wattsquirrel and Dark Magician once again merged together into a familiar mouse in purple robes and pointy hat. "Wizard Mouse!" The enchanted rodent squeaked in reply.

The friends were impressed. "Awesome! Ash took control of Dark Magician so he could combine him and Wattsquirrel into Wizard Mouse!" Brock said.

"That's totally brilliant!" Téa said.

"Yeah, yeah!" Max beamed.

"That still won't be enough to take down Slifer," Kaiba said. "Ash will have to better than that."

"I plant these two facedown and end my turn," Ash planted two more cards in front of him.

"Time has run out for you, Ash!" Yami roared. "Your life points are history! Slifer, take down Wizard Mouse and end this duel!"

Slifer drew in a breath of ultrahot energy and was about to exhale when-

"I use my trap card, Chains of Judgement!" When Ash revealed his first facedown card, golden chains launched and wrapped around Slifer's mouths, delaying his attack. "It transfers half of Slifer's attack points to his defense points!"

"I play Bean Soldier in attack mode!" He continued as he summon anthropomorphic lima bean holding a sword in the field.

"Then I sacrifice him and Wizard Mouse to ritual summon Moon Lop Samurai!" By the power of the other facedown card, Wizard Mouse and Bean Soldier disappeared and a another anthropomorphic animal arrived in their place in a blue magical spark light. It was a large white hare-like warrior dressed in a dark blue samurai armor holding twin swords with blades carved like moon crescents. It level is at 10 and its ATK and DEF points are at 4100 and 3300.

The friends looked impressed.

"Moon Lop Samurai, use the Seven Blades Of Heaven!" Ash declared. The samurai rabbit rose his twin swords up and increased his attack points.

"Oh no, Yugi's in trouble!" May gasped in worry.

"Eliminate Yugi's Slifer and end this duel!"

"Moon Lop Samurai slammed down his swords and fired several crescent radiant bombs from the blades, homing directly in directly at the trapped dragon.

"Alright, I won!" Ash grinned in triumph.

"Pikachu!"

The friends gawked in awe. "He did it! Ash has beaten Yugi!" Brock exclaimed.

But Yami smirked cockily and chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you, Ash but I've won this duel!"

"What?" Ash gawked at him in puzzlement.

The pharaoh pulled up another facedown card. "Divine Wind!"

A whooshing vortex rose up and deflected the Seven Blades of Light. It bounced back directly at Moon Lop Samurai.

"PIKACHU!" It shouted warningly.

"OH NO!" Ash yelled in shock as his monster got terminated by its own attack, causing all of his lifepoints zipped down to zero.

The trainers gasped in amazement. They did not see that coming. Joey, Téa, and Tristan on the other hand were not surprised by their friend's surprised counter attack at all.

"Whoa man! Ash got wiped by his own monster's attack!" Brock exclaimed.

"Yugi counterattacked by Divine Wind!" Joey said.

"He really is good!" Said Max.

"Ash almost had him." Added Téa.

"But the fact is no one could defeat Yugi, the King of Games." May put in her two cents.

"That was truly entertaining," Pegasus said.

Ash sunk onto floors on his knees in disbelief, still stunned by the unexpected turnaround. "Aw, man, I lost! I was so close."

"Pikachu!" It stood by him and consoled him.

Yami approached him. "Don't feel bad, Ash. You put up a great duel." He assured warmly as he took out his hand. "In fact, you were my toughest opponent I've ever faced. Even tougher than my last one back at the Battle City Finals." He said to him truthfully, recalling his last duel against Yami Marik.

Ash lifted his head up and smiled lightly. "Aw, you're just saying that." He took the pharaoh's hand and got on his feet. "But it's okay, you are the King of Games, so it's no surprise that you beat me."

"Pika-chu."

"That was a great duel!" Brock said.

"You guys were awesome!" Tristan said.

"Super awesome!" Max added.

"You are two are the greatest duelist around!" Téa said.

May hugged Yugi tightly. "But my Yugi-Poo is even greater! He is the champion!" Yugi blushed and chuckled modestly.

Téa growled in annoyance while Max facepalmed.

"I think they put up a great show, don't you think, Seto?" Mokuba asked his older brother.

"Hmph. Actually, I'm glad Ash lost," Kaiba responded. "'Cause the only person that the championship title is going to is me, not to some rookie Pokémon trainer from another world."

Mokuba snorted lightly.

* * *

Outside, Billy and Kidd saw the whole thing through the thermal binoculars. "You saw that, Kidd?" The large blond man said. "That kid's almost beat that big-haired bucko. 'Course he's

"Both of those kids are tougher they look," Kidd said. "It's a wonder how could they ever beat us. As long as they're in the way, it'll be impossible to steal the Blue Eyes White Dragon. We'll just have to wait until it's clear."

* * *

"Hey, now that you shown us Duel Monsters, let us introduce our Pokémon to you!" Ash beamed as he thought up a idea.

"YEAH!" May and Max agreed.

"Pikachu!"

"Come on out, everyone!" Brock brought out all his Poké balls and threw them all up in the air, releasing Forretress, Steelix, Ludicolo, Marshtomp, and Bonsly.

"It's time for you to meet everyone too," May said to her six Poké balls. She threw them up in the air and out came Combuskin, Skitty, Beautifly, Munchlax, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.

"Hey, don't forget my Pokémon!" Ash paused his duel for a minute to release his Pokémon from their Poké balls as well. "Meet Grovyle, Glalie, Torkoal, Swellow, and Phanpy!"

Soon the whole arena was packed with excited Pokémon, greeting the duelists. Yugi, Téa, Joey, and Tristan expressed in ecstasy as they got to know all the majestic creatures. "How cool!" Téa beamed as Squirtle and Bulbasaur approached her feet.

"Squirtle!"

"Bulbasaur."

"Well, isn't this lovely?" Pegasus smiled as Skitty the kitten Pokémon brushed its pink face against his leg.

"Hey little guy, what's up?" Joey smiled as reached down to pet Glalie, the Face Pokémon. It grinned mischievously and performed an Ice Beam on the blond-haired young man, turning him into a human ice cube

"Whoa! Hey take it easy!" Tristan exclaimed as he was picked up by a friendly Steelix in its large rocky tail. Some of the little Pokémon such as Squirtle and Glalie were feeling a little mischievous. They climbed on the dueling platforms and had a little contest to see who can shot out their Water Gun the highest.

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

"Bulbasaur!"

"Hey! If one of your Pokémon leaves a filthy mess on my company floor, I'm holding you responsible!" Kaiba barked. He yelped in surprise as Brock's dancing Pokémon Ludicolo grabbed him and against his will, did a samba with it.

"Ludicolo, Ludi-colo, Ludi-colo!"

Mokuba chuckled as he bent down to pet Phanpy who rose its trunk. "Isn't it cool, Seto?"

"Aw! There, there now!" Téa cooed as she held the little baby Bonsly next to her head.

"Hello there!" Yugi smiled as he was greeted by Swellow who landed on his shoulder.

"Pretty cool, right?" Ash beamed.

"Pikachu!"

Mew took one last look at the arena before disappearing.

* * *

Back at dumpster ally, Weevil and Rex angrily faced against Team Rocket for crashing into them earlier. "So you like you fall on people, huh?" The sea-green haired teen growled as he drew two new cards and summon a bigger and uglier monster on the field. "Here comes my Insect Queen!" An oversized queen insect with wings appeared.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you! Wobbuffet, go!" Jessie shouted.

"Wobba-Wobba-fet."

"Puh-leaze! That thing won't stand a chance against my Insect Queen!" Weevil retorted. "Attack!" The monstrous queen bee dove her to take a bite out of the patient Pokémon.

"Wobbuffet, use Counter Attack!"

"Wobba-fet!" Its blue body glowed and Insect Queen was immobilized in her tracks.

"What?!" Weevil gawked in surprise.

"How do you like me now, you little worm?" Jessie growled.

"Megazowler, smash that pint-sized cactus to needles!" Rex commanded his triceratops-like dinosaur stamped its large foot on Cactnea, but Cactnea dodge it.

"Cactnea, use Pin Missile!" James shouted.

The cactus Pokémon obeyed and fired multiple sharp needles at Megazowler except it swished its thick tail, bouncing the black needles back at Cactnea.

"You might as well face it, you rugrats! Our Pokémon are better than your Duel Monsters!" Jessie growled.

"Are you out of your minds? Our Duel Monsters are much stronger than your puny Pokémon!" Retorted Rex.

"Yeah!" Agreed Weevil.

"You take that back!" James snapped. "We are ten-times more stronger than you losers!"

"Hey, look guys! There go the twerps!" Meowth pointed over to the outlet of the alley. Jessie, Rex, James, and Weevil looked that way. They spotted Ash, Yugi, Pikachu, and co. riding in a black limousine by KaibaCorp. They were heading for the Domino Pier.

"Grr! If it wasn't for that twerp and that blasted Yugi Muto, we wouldn't be wasting time with these losers!" Jessie squawked.

The dueling boys paused and looked at Team Rocket curiously. "Wait a second, did you say 'Yugi Muto'?" Weevil asked.

"Yes, I did." Jessie answered, lessening up. "Do you know him?"

"Know him? I challenged him to a duel back at Duelist Kingdom," Weevil explained. "I used to be the best duelist in the world, until that big-haired pipsqueak squashed me like a bug and had me booted off the island before I could make it to Pegasus' castle." He sunk down in anger. "He made me look like a chump!"

"Really? That's terrible," James said. "He did the same thing to us at a virtual world in KaibaCorp. When we tried to steal Pikachu, that spiky-haired twerp blew us with his 'Mind Crash' or whatever and sent us blasting off."

"The other twerp called Ash Ketchum has also been making fools of us since we could remember." Added Meowth.

The two snarky duelists looked at each other. "This may sound weird, but we're on the same track." Rex said.

The gang stood at the Domino Pier, gandering at luxury yacht shaped like Blue Eyes White Dragon. "This boat should take you to the Kanto region." Roland informed. "The ride is approximately 45 minutes."

"Looks kind of fancy," Ash said.

"Looks like the Blue Eyes White Dragon," Joey said.

"Mr. Kaiba thought you guys should travel back home first class," The chauffeur said. "Compliments of KaibaCorp and Maximilian Pegasus."

The friends looked impressed. "Wow, KaibaCorp sure knows how to travel in style," Ash said.

"Yeah," May agreed.

"Pika."

"In other words, Rich Boy just wants you trainers gone ASAP," Joey muttered to Max and Brock who snickered.

The two group of friends took a moment to recollect their adventure together at the virtual world. "Well, Yugi, it's been fun." Ash said. "I've really enjoyed dueling with you."

"Me too." Yugi said.

"I hope we'll meet again someday," Ash said. "And then, we can have a rematch.

"Pika."

"You'll always be welcome here, Ash." Yugi said.

Tristan sniffled. "I'm not going to cry!" He whimpered. "You can't make me!"

"Aw, Tristan! I'm gonna miss you too!" Max blubbered, eyes watering. He hugged the taller boy's legs real tight.

"Joey, it's been real blast." Brock said. "You take care of yourself, man."

"Ditto on dat, pal." The blond-haired boy said. "I'm gonna miss you and your cooking, Brocko!" They each patted each other on the shoulders.

"I hate saying goodbye, Téa." May said, sniffling. "Especially after I just made a friend."

"That makes two of us," Téa said, blue eyes glistening. "Let's not forget each other!" The two girls hugged each other tightly.

Ash smiled and took out his hand. "Thanks for everything, Yugi. We wish the pharaoh good luck finding his memories."

"Pikachu."

"Thanks, Ash." Yugi smiled and held out his hand. "And I wish you luck on becoming a Pokémon master."

"We'll always be friends on the either sides of the world," Ash affirmed.

The boys shook hands of friendship. Each of the pals exchanged tokens of farewell. They thought this was going to be end of their adventure together in Domino City...

Until..

"You should go with Ash, Yugi." An elderly man's voice said.

"Huh?!" Everyone jumped up in surprise.

"Grandpa!" Yugi ejected. Solomon was standing in the pier with them.

"Where you'd come from?" Joey ejected.

"Grandpa?" Ash repeated.

"Pika, Pika?"

"Since the Ball of the Underworld is being displayed at the Dynamo City Museum, it would do good for the pharaoh come along with you so he could learn a little bit about his past. It may not give 100% of the Pharaoh's memories but it might help him more if he learns about his past link with Pokémon," Solomon proposed. "Plus, I have a great feeling that another destiny is waiting for him at the Poké world."

"You think so, Grandpa?" Yugi asked.

Solomon nodded affirmatively. "You must always take advantag of opportunities like these passing by you."

"Should we go too?" Téa asked her male friends.

"Dat's a great idea!" Joey said excitedly. "I've always wanted ta see Pokémon."

"Yeah! That'd be so cool!" Max agreed.

"I want to see a Dragonite!" Tristan said. "Or a Aggron, or maybe a Lugia."

"There'll be plenty of Pokémon to see, Tristan." May said.

While they were debating whether they should go with the trainers, Jessie, James, Weevil, and Rex were in the midst of discussion of possible collaboration. "Here's the scope: you guys get your Pokémon, and we get our god cards," Rex compromised.

"You help us get Pikachu and we'll help you get those powerful god cards from that other twerp." Jessie said.

"You've got a deal, lady." Weevil grinned covetously.

Jessie took bug duelist's hand and shook on it. "My dear Weevil, this could be the start of our beautiful friendship!"

"Hee hee hee hee!"

James took Rex's hand. "I think you and I will do just fine, Rex."

"I feel the same way about you, James." The dino duelist smirked knavishly.

Meowth looked at them unsurely. "I've got a weird feeling about this."

"Wobbuffet!"

* * *

And so on, the S. S. Blue Eyes traveled the enthusiastic group across the blue ocean, en route to the land of the Kanto region. On the upper deck, Ash and Yami were having a little Poké match between them. Brock, Joey, and Tristan are in the galley, and Max, Téa, and May are on the other side, watching Mantine and Wailmer leap over the waters

Team Rocket, with their new allies tailed them in the Magikarp submarine. "Pedal faster!" Jessie barked. "We must catch up!"

"No one said anything about slave-driving." Rex grumbled.

"Welcome to the life of Team Rocket." Said James.

"Hey, wouldn't that be cool I could transform into a super-cool guy?" Ash brought up. "I'd be unbeatable, just like the pharaoh! I could win every single match without even sweating! I'd have two sides of me; the nice sweet half and the dark cool half!" He said it in a deep voice as he expressed two sides of himself: young and goofy, and dark and solemn like Yami with brim shading his eyes.

"Pika!"

"HA HA! I can see you already!" Yugi laughed and pictured it. "You Ash Ketchum, the Yami Trainer!" He allowed his new friend to touch his Millennium Puzzle.

"Poké-Oh!" Ash cried. He pretended to transform into the pharaoh. "I am Yami Ash, the greatest and invincible Pokémon trainer from Pallet Town!" He announced in a deep voice as he switched his hat around. "It's time to duel!" He held out an empty Poke' ball. "Poke' Ball, GO!" He threw it across the laboratory. "Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu played along, acting like a Yami Pokémon.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt ATTACK!" Ash ordered.

"PIKACHU!" Pikachu threw a mild thunderbolt up in the air.

"Nice job, Pikachu!" Yami Ash said deeply. "Victory is ours!"

"Pikachu!"

Then both of the young boys laughed in humor. "Not bad, Ash!" Yugi recommended. "You almost sound just like the Pharaoh!"

"Thanks!" Ash giggled in his normal voice and scratched his nose.

"Pikachu!" The yellow Pokémon said in glee. Both boys laughed in amusement. The others chuckled as well.

* * *

Half an hour later after the S. S. Blue Eyes docked, the heroic are standing in a field of dandelions. "So, which way's to Dynamo City?" Ash asked.

"According to my Poké Nav, Dynamo City is about 30 miles there by bus," Max answered.

"Aw, another traveling agency. I am getting two tired for this," May moaned as she dipped her bare feet in the pond.

"Uh-oh!" Max uttered when he saw something else viewing on the screen.

"What's wrong, Max?" Yugi asked.

"There's an update that someone broke into the Dynamo City Museum and stolen the Ball of Underworld last night," Max informed.

"What?!" The party looked shocked.

"Whaddaya mean the Ball of the Underworld has been stolen?" Joey spat out.

"It also read that strange and eerie events have been happening in some parts of the Poké world." Max added more.

"That's like a bunch of hooey," Tristan said. "Though I'm getting a feeling of déjá vu."

"Who would steal the Ball of the Underworld? That makes no sense." May asked.

"We came to the Pokémon world for nothing," Yugi said. "That's too bad for the pharaoh."

"Pika, Pika."

"Well, since you guys are here, we can still look at the Pokémon." Ash said.

"According to my Poké Nav, we're not too far from Pallet Town," Max said. "We can stop by and see Professor Oak."

"That's sounds like a good idea," Brock said.

"Yo, guys! Look what I found!" It was Joey called, holding a medium sized pink ball in his right hand. "A beach ball!"

"Where did you find that, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"In da middle of da' road," Joey answered. "I guess somebody just left it there. Finders keepers!"

"Let's have a ball!" Tristan suggested.

The trainers stared at the mysterious pink ball until they saw it grow ears and two large round eyes opened up.

"Uh, Joey?" Ash spoke up. He and his friends recognized the "pink ball" right away.

"Yeah? What up, Ash?" The blond guy answered.

That's not a beach ball," Ash warned nervously.

"Eh?"

"Huh?" The Duel Monster looked confused.

"That's a..." May didn't get a chance to finish.

"JIG-GA-LEE-PUFF JIG-GA-LEEE-PUFF." The pink Pokémon sang its lullaby, sending everyone to immediate drowsiness.

"Not again..." Ash murmured as he fell into slumber.

"Suddenly, I feel so..." Yugi mumbled and closed his eyes.

"Sleepy, sleepy..." Tristan yawned.

The others dropped down like bricks and fell fast asleep on the grass.

"Jiggly-Puff-Puff!" In anger, it removed the top from its microphone and quickly doodled on all their sleeping faces with its black marker and then took off somewhere.

A couple hours later, the group woke up with a brand new makeover. Téa screamed in alarm as she saw her friends' new makeovers. "How did this happen?" Her face is drawn with a clown mouth, teardrop underneath her right eye, and a star on her left cheek.

"Not again!" May uttered. Her face was gratified with a black mustache, a goatee and a monocle.

"Déjá vu!" Max laughed as his face was drawn with whiskers and wavy lines above his eyebrows.

"What else is new?" Brock said. He has "eyeballs" over his lined eyes, a curled mustache and a squiggly

Tristan had a goatee, long eyelashes, and whiskers on his forehead. "Well, I did always want facial hair," he said. "But the eyelashes..." He pulled down his eyelid.

"HA HA HA! You look stupid, Tristan! HA HA HA!" Joey guffawed as he teased his friend. His pretty face is drawn a black eye patch, a stitched scar on his cheek, and a beard.

"Oh yeah? You don't look good yourself, either!" Tristan retorted.

"Does that sort of thing always happened, Ash?" Yugi asked. His face is drawn on with a pair of square glasses, whiskers around his mouth and a star on his forehead.

"Not really, it only happens occasionally," Ash replied. He has a black eye, a wavy mustache, and eyelashes.

"Pikachu!" It has an large "x" between its eyes and nose and "sideburns".

"That's good to hear. We just saw our first Pokémon." Yugi said. The Pharaoh's spirit (whose gratified face is identical to Yugi's) appeared from the Millennium Puzzle.

_This land seems too quiet._ He thought. _I sense something sinister creeping upon the land._

"We should get going," Brock said. "We got a lot of catching up to do."

"Hey guys! Come here!" Max called over urgently.

"What is it, Max?" Ash asked. (Their faces are now clean.)

"There's a Stanler that looks hurt!" Max pointed to behind a bush. They saw indeed that a stag-like Pokémon was laying in the groves, looking beat up and whimpering in pain.

"Hey, you're right!" May said.

"Poor little guy!" Téa said.

"We should help it!" Brock said as he and the others rushed to help the wounded Pokémon. What they didn't know what was that it was a setup by the evil Pokémon under control by dark magic.

"We got to get this Stanler to a Pokémon Center!" Brock said. Tristan lifted the "injured" Stanler in his arms.

"I agree."

"The nearest one is three miles from here," Max said.

"Professor Oak will have to wait then." Yugi said..

"You and Ash and Pikachu can go on ahead," Brock said. "We'll catch up with you later."

Ash nodded. "Right. You be careful out there. We'll see you in a little bit. Let's go, Yugi."

"Pikachu."

And so, Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi went on ahead to the Ketchum home while their friends take the injured Pokémon to the Pokémon Center. Little did they know is that they are going to receive a welcoming committee from a sinister force that awaits them in Pallet Town.


	22. Peril in Pallet Town

Meanwhile back in KaibaCorp, the same Team Rocket duo, Billy and Kidd stepped outside from the building, wearing faces of smug satisfaction. Billy had out his duel disk which he used to contribute chaos so his partner could attempt to steal the CEO's prized possession once again. Kidd held was three cards of legendary white dragons with blue eyes. "We have done it, Bill." He said. "We got the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"Heh, those suckers didn't have a chance against our powerful monsters!" Billy chortled. Kidd snickered in agreement.

They've stolen Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon after all!

Inside the re-attacked KaibaCorp, everybody was running around in the disorder. Kaiba laid on the floor, groaning. He was struck by Billy's Pinto Menace. Mokuba kneeled besides his brother, trying to help him up. "Seto!"

The elevator dinged and Pegasus exited, returning from making sure the kids make it to the limo. "Well, the kids on their way-oh my word!" He gasped in horror at what he saw. "Kaiba Boy! Are you okay?" He rushed to his side and tried to help him up.

Kaiba grunted, brushed Pegasus off him, and forced himself up. "I must...contact Roland!" He grunted as he got his mobile phone.

The cowboy duo punched in the numbers on their wrist communicators and contacted Team Rocket Headquarters. "This is Giovanni, report," their leader answered through the tiny video phone.

"We done it, sir. We have completed our mission." Kidd reported. "We have the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in our grasps. It was a difficult process but we succeeded."

"Well, that's excellent news I've heard in a while," Giovanni said. "Nice job. You're the one of the few people who could succeed."

"Indeed." Kidd said. "However we are thinking about obtaining Yugi Muto's god cards next. You can never be too prepared when handling Cerberus' power."

"Which reminds me, have your other lackeys heisted the Ball of the Underworld from the Dynamo City Museum yet?" Billy asked.

Giovanni was silent for a moment, feeling stressed out. "I haven't heard word from Butch or Cassidy since I sent them over to Dynamo City." He finally said. "I don't know what has happened to them. We tried contacting them for hours and still no answer from either of them."

Billy just scoffed. "Probably laying on the job somewhere. Guess you can't really find good help these days."

"We'll fetch the Ball of the Underworld for you, Giovanni. We know where those brats be heading next: back home..." Kidd calculated as he placed the duel disk in his holster. "And we'll be on the other side, waiting..." Both of the duelists smirked deviously.

"Those Egyptian God Cards will be in our hands Make no mistake." Billy added.

"Time is of essence! Hurry up and bring me the Ball of the Underworld and don't keep me waiting any longer!" Giovanni commanded snappishly.

"Rrroew!" His pet Persian added.

"As you wish, sir. Over and out." Kidd closed transmission and stepped inside the sidecar while his large partner revved up the engine.

"Enjoy your little victory party while you can. You ain't seen the last of us, Yugi Muto and Ash Ketchum. Our paths will cross again." He sworn with ill will vengeance.

"Let's get going!" Billy said, revving up the engine. "Yee-haw!" He and his short partner took off and evacuated Domino City.

* * *

Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi walked down the dirt road, entering to Pallet Town. "This looks totally nice, Ash." The spiky-haired teen said from perspective. They were sighting a community garden along the way. "Your hometown seems pretty peaceful."

"Yeah, it is pretty peaceful. Usually nothing much happens in Pallet Town." Ash said.

"Pikachu."

"So I see," Yugi said. "It's a little too peaceful though. It's the middle of the day and there's no one outside." His spirit appeared from Millennium Puzzle, examining the scenery.

"Well, wait till we get at my house." Ash said. "My mom is a amazing cook. She can cook an amazing feast. It'll fill you up so full, you won't be able to move for a while."

"Pika, Pika!"

"That sounds really great, Ash." Yugi said. "It has been a while since I had a home-cooked meal."

Ash walked backwards in front of his friend. "I'll have to warn you about my mom though when we get to my house. She can be a wee bit too chummy, not mention a bit embarrassing. So don't feel too offended if she say anything about your hair or something like that."

"Don't worry me, Ash. She sounds real nice to me. I can't wait to meet her!" Yugi smiled.

"Then once we refueled on my mom's banquet, we'll head over to Professor Oak's laboratory so we can tap some to the pharaoh's past."

"That sounds like a plan." Yugi said. "I know the pharaoh is going to be so excited when he learns about his past link to the Pokémon!"

"Let's go then! I'll race you there!" Ash sped on ahead.

"Hey, wait for me, Ash!" Yugi chased from behind. "I wasn't ready!"

"Pikachu!" The trio jogged down the dirt road, on their way to the Pokémon master's house. Lurking behind in the shadowy trees, a cluster of red eyes glowed, keeping eyes on their targets.

* * *

Somewhere out there, the group of friends arrived at the Pokémon center with a "sick" Stanler. "Nurse Joy?" Max called out when they entered inside. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

A lady with red curled hair and in nurse's uniform stepped out of the office and approached from behind the counter. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Nurse Joy!" Brock swooned with love. "Yes, you can help me!" He ogled at the weirded-out woman and flirted with her. "Could you check my temperature, because I think I'm burning with love!"

"Then you cool down, Romeo!" Max remarked as he pulled down his ear.

Téa also grabbed the other ear. "Boys are such lunkheads!" She gritted her teeth.

"Yeouch!" Brock yelped as he was dragged away by the annoyed two.

"Yeez," Joey muttered and rolled his brown eyes. "Glad my sister's not here. Brock woulda been nuts and Tristan wouldn't live that down."

"There's a Stanler right here that looks it's sick or something," Tristan presented the presumed hurt deer Pokémon in his arms.

Nurse Joy took a good look. "We'll have a look at this Stanler right away. Chansey!" She summoned her assistants.

Two pink egg-shaped Pokémon arrived with a stretcher. "Chansey!"

"Aw, what cute Chansey!" Téa beamed. "They would be my type of Pokémon!"

"Chansey!" The nurse Pokémon placed the Stanler on the stretcher and transported to the medical room.

"Please make sure that Stanler is okay." May requested.

"We'll do what we can," Nurse Joy assured as she followed her staff inside, leaving the people to wait in the waiting room.

"So, if you were a Pokémon, which one would you be?" Joey asked, making conversation.

"Who me?" Max replied. "I'd probably be a Snorlax 'cause I like to sleep a lot."

"I'd be a beautiful Beautifly," May said. "So I could I flutter around freely."

"I wonder what does the pharaoh have anything with Pokémon?" Téa said. "Did he even knew about Pokémon battles?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Max said.

"Let's have a little Pokémon contest," Brock said. "While we wait, we can teach ya."

"That sounds great, Brock," Joey said. "But first, could you whip us something to eat first?" He rubbed his stomach.

"We're starving again!" Tristan said.

The friends tipped over in exclaim.

"You guys must totally like my cooking," Brock said.

"Heck, yeah!"

"Joey and Tristan eat more than Ash does," May said.

"They eat more than two Snorlaxes combined!" Max added.

"It's like feeding a black hole," Téa shook her head.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash and Yugi have finally arrived at the Ketchum house. "This is it, Yug," the young trainer said. "This is my home."

"It looks nice, Ash." Yugi said. "I bet your mom will be surprised to see us."

"I'm sure she will be."

"Pi?" Pikachu's ears perked up as if it sensed something not right. It was coming from the house inside.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" It hopped off Ash's shoulder and stood away the house, feeling afraid. "Chuuu!"

"Pikachu, what's the matter?" Ash asked.

"Pika, Pika!" For some reason, it refused to go inside the house.

The human boys looked at the paranoid mouse Pokémon queerly. "That's weird, what's gotten into Pikachu all of a sudden?" Asked Yugi.

Ash shrugged. "I don't know. But let's just go inside. I'm sure Pikachu will be fine." He opened the door and the two entered the house. "Hi, Mom! I'm home!" He announced.

The interiors was extremely empty and strangely quiet. "Hello? Is anyone home?" Ash called out.

There in the shadowed hallways, a red-haired woman stood near the kitchen with her face half shaded. "Ash..." She blurted in a metallic voice.

"Hey Mom. Aren't you surprised to me?" Ash beamed. "I hope you don't mind. I brought a new friend today." He introduced his guest to his mother. "This is Yugi Muto from Domino City. He's a duelist in case you're wondering."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ketchum," the colorful spiky-haired teen said politely.

Delia said nothing and turned her back. "Come into the kitchen with me, son. We need to talk."

"Huh?" The boys looked at each other weirdly and followed the lady to the kitchen.

"What about, Mom? Did I do something wrong?" Ash asked.

"Pika, Pika!" It peeked through the kitchen window, alerting about something.

"Sit right there, boy!" Delia commanded stonily, pointing to a chair at the table. Her red bangs shielded her eyes and her voice sounded different.

Ash obligately sat down on the chair as told. "Mom, are you alright? You sound a little strange." He asked uneasily.

"Are families in this town that strict?" Yugi asked.

Just then, the pharaoh from the Millennium Puzzle appeared, sensing evil energy. "Something's very wrong here, Yugi. I can sense darkness infesting this area."

Delia stepped behind her sitting son, holding a frying pan in her hand. "Um, Mom?" Ash asked, unaware that his own mother is going to hit him.

Yugi gasped. "ASH BEHIND YOU!" He shouted in warning.

Ash turned around and yelled in fright as his mother swung the pan. Yugi's Millennium Puzzle immediately glowed, turning him into the pharaoh. "ASH! LOOKOUT!" He raced inside the kitchen, seized the young boy, and pulled him away from the table where the frying pan missed.

Delia's dark eyes revealed, displaying possible signs that she's possessed! Yami and Ash laid on the kitchen floor on their stomachs. Delia approached them and held the frying pan in her hand.

Yami quickly got up and searched the drawers, looking for something to defend.

"Enemies of Master must be eliminated!" The mind-control mother's voice was mixed with a demon voice. She got ready to strike again.

"Mom, what are you doing?!" Ash ejected in shock.

When the iron pan swooped down, the pharaoh grabbed a rolling pin and blocked the woman's strike, defending his comrade.

"Ash, get out of there!" Yami shouted.

Ash only laid there in shock, too stunned to speak. He had no idea what was happening or what is wrong. Delia pushed the pharaoh back with the frying pan and knocked him aside.

"Stand still!" Delia growled. She opened the drawer and threw multiple knives at her lying son. Ash screamed as he scrambled backwards, narrowing missing the staking sharp blades.

"Get up, Ash!" Yami said urgently. He pulled his small friend up on his feet and evacuated the kitchen.

"Mimey, GET THEM!" Delia shouted to her Pokémon.

"Mister Mime!" The other mind-controlled pawn jumped out from the stairs and landed in front of the fleeing duo.

"Don't let them escape!" Delia commanded.

"Mime Mime!" Mr. Mime used his Barrier to block the heroes and they crashed against the invisible wall.

"Mister Mime!" The Barrier Pokémon's eyes glowed red, under the influence of dark magic.

"Mimey, stop!" Ash cried as he and the pharaoh banged against pellucid structure.

"I could feel a essence of an evil spirit that's behind all this!" Yami muttered.

"Pika!" Pikachu rushed in to the rescue. "Pikachu!" It used Thunderbolt on Mr. Mime, causing it to lose focus and let the two boys slip away.

Ash, Pikachu, and Yami evacuated the house and stopped to pant outside. "You alright, Ash?" The pharaoh asked his little friend.

"I-I don't know." Ash answered, all shaken. "What's happened to my mom?"

"I don't think that's your mother, Ash!" Yami said. "She's not in there!"

"What do you mean that's not my mother?" Ash asked in a scared tone. "Where is she then?"

"There's something very wrong here!" Yami answered.

"I don't understand!" Ash said.

"Your mother and her Mimey might under a spell of evil Millennium Magic!" Yami said.

"Pika!" Pikachu piped up warningly. Ash and Yami looked up.

They found more Pokémon with furious red eyes confronting them.

"That's not normal," Ash said.

"Pikachu."

"Stay back! These Pokémon are possessed too!" The pharaoh said.

"Pikachu!" It threw an several thunder bolts from its red cheeks, temporarily stunning the enemies.

"Hurry, Ash! Now's our chance!" Yami urged.

"Pika!"

The trio started sprinting down the road. "What is wrong with those Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"We have to get away from here!" Yami said.

"Let's go to Professor Oak's laboratory!" Ash suggested. "He'll know what's going on!"

"Then let's go!" Yami said.

The three of them sped ahead until they've reach the Oak Research Laboratory. Ash tried on the door. "It's locked!"

"Stand back!" Yami activated his duel disk and drew out a spell card. "I activate Cursebreaker!" At the immediate effect of the spell card, the door unlocked and forced open.

"Tracey? Professor Oak!" Ash hollered. "Where are you?"

"Pikachu!"

The answer quickly came to them when they heard screaming upstairs. "AAAAHHHHH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!"

The duo looked up. "That sounded like Tracey!" Ash observed. "They're upstairs!"

"There's no time to lose! We must hurry!" Yami said.

He, Ash, and Pikachu sprinted upstairs where halfway there they were encountered by more evil Pokémon. "Not here too!" Yami ejaculated.

"What the heck is going on?" Ash exclaimed.

The Pokémon in front, Tentacool, Houndoom, and Donphan stepped forward as they were about to make the first strike! "Lookout!" Yami shouted.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash commanded.

"PIKACHU!" It threw more thunderbolts from his red cheeks, electrifying the three Pokémon in their way.

"Let's move!" Yami urged. The trio proceeded upstairs when another set of angry Pokémon charged at them.

"Pikachu!" It shocked the other Pokémon so that Ash and Yami could pass through. They fought off the last of the enemies until they finally reached the second floor. They paused and panted for a minute, only to find on the inner balcony of the research room were Professor Oak and Tracey being cornered by their Pokémon turned, Marril, Venonat, Scyther, and Muk.

"No, please! Stop!" Tracey pleaded fearfully.

"Muk, Marril, Scyther! Stop this at once!" Professor Oak tried to ward off the menacing Pokémon.

"That's them! They're in trouble!"

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"PIKACHU!" The electric mouse obeyed and fired out bolts of lightning and zapped the possessed Pokémon attacking the professor and his assistant.

Defeated, the Pokémon retreated and evacuated the room. Ash and Yami ran up the stairs approached the rescued pair. "Tracey! Professor Oak!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachu!"

"Are you folks alright?" Yami asked.

The research pair collapsed and breathed hard, attempting to recover

"Give a old man a heart attack." Professor Oak emitted, clutching his chest.

"You're safe now." Yami said. "For the time being."

"Pika, Pika."

"What happened here?" Ash asked.

"I...I-I'm not sure." Tracey uttered an answer. "A moment ago, everything was just fine and normal. And then out of nowhere, all the Pokémon in the laboratory have turned psycho and tried to attack us."

"Why would they do that?" Ash inquired.

"That's the part we don't know." Professor Oak said. "The Pokémon never acted like this before. I've been studying Pokémon here all my life and not one of them had acted so aggressively violent...until now."

"What? That's crazy!" Ash said.

"Pikachu!"

"Odd. Pokémon wouldn't just normally attack people without any reason, unless something, or someone has caused them to act this way," Yami put in.

"I agree with you on that, young man, and I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this," Professor Oak said. "I just don't understand it."

"There must be something." Tracey ogled at the thinking spiky tri-colored hair pharaoh in curiosity. "Hang on a second, I know you!" He exclaimed.

"Huh?" Yami broke off from concentration and looked at him.

"Aren't you Yugi Muto, champion of Duelist Kingdom and Battle City?" Tracey asked.

"Why, yes. Yes I am." The pharaoh answered truthfully.

"I knew it! I just knew it!" Tracey lauded with psyche. "I recognize that hairdo anywhere!"

"Uh..." Yami Yugi cocked head.

Tracey got out his sketch book and stencil. "I don't normally sketch duelists, but do you mind if I do a quick portrait of you, Mr. Muto?" He asked. "It would make a star addition for my sketchbook

"Uh...I don't see why not. I'm...I'm quite flattered." Yami said, blushing and scratching his head.

"Just keep it like that," Tracey instructed. "Could you get out your duel disk also?"

"Hey, guys! You can do some model-drawing later, Tracey," Ash interposed. "Right now, let's focus on the Donphan in the room; like why did the Pokémon attack?"

"Pika, Pika."

"We're not sure exactly and it may sound strange to you, but when we looked at the Pokémon, we could see spite and malevolence in their eyes. They have just turned evil all of a sudden, like they got possessed or something." Tracey added.

"Possessed?" Ash repeated in queer. "That does sound weird."

"Pika?" He and his trainer looked at each other in puzzlement.

"What were you doing when the Pokémon attack?" Yami asked. "Did anything out of the ordinary happen? Something unusual?"

"Not that we know of," Professor Oak said. "All we were doing was studying in the lab. Everything else was the same old, same old...that is until the Pokémon attacked."

"Was there anything else that happened? Anything at all?" Ash grilled.

"Try to remember," Yami added.

Professor Oak and Tracey thought very carefully and remembered. "Well, there was one thing," the old man put in. "Right before you two arrived, we had an unexpected visitor at our Pokémon lab."

"A visitor?" Ash repeated.

"Pika?"

"What did he look like?" Yami inquired.

"Well, um, let's see...He's...ahem. He's a bright young man with long bushy white hair and dark eyes, talks in a British accent..." Professor Oak described. "And uh, what else is there, Tracey?"

"He wore some kind of weird amulet that is shaped like a gold ring with prongs around his neck," Tracey added one more detail.

"White-haired boy? Ring-shaped amulet?" Ash repeated in queer.

"Pikachu?"

Yami put together those descriptions and figure it out. He gasped in worry and hoped it wasn't who he think it was. "Did he say it was a Millennium Ring?"

"Beg your pardon?" Professor Oak asked.

"That gold ring you mentioned-did it have an eye symbol, carved like this one on my Millennium Puzzle?" Yami pointed to the Eye of Wjdat carving on his Millennium Puzzle.

Professor Oak examined the puzzle up closely and recognized the eye right away. "Now that you mentioned it, it does compare to the one you're wearing, a perfect match." He admitted. "But why do you ask, Yugi?"

"Because I believe that the boy who visited here may have something to do with the Pokémon turning evil," Yami answered seriously. "You and Tracey are in grave danger, Professor." The two looked afraid.

"What are you talking about, Pharaoh?" Ash asked.

Before the pharaoh could answer, a maniacal laugh echoed throughout the lab, alerting the group. "Oh no!" Yami cried.

"What's that noise?" Ash asked.

"Pika Pika!" The mouse Pokémon squealed in suspense.

"That's the same voice we heard when this happened!" Tracey exclaimed. "He's coming back again!"

"Who's coming back again?" Asked Ash.

Professor Oak and Tracey didn't have time to answer when the entire research lab was ridden with dark purple mist.

"What's this?" Ash gawked at it.

"Just as I thought. It's evil magic from the Shadow Realm!" Yami knew. "You've got to get away from here!"

"We can't move!" Professor Oak shouted as he and his frightened assistant are shrouded by the ghostly smog, separating from the heroes.

"Tracey!" Ash shouted.

"Professor Oak!" Yami shouted.

Both of them were swallowed up by the dark mist. The fog thickened in the whole research lab. "They're gone!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pikachu!" It pointed across the room.

Loud thudding shook the area. An enormous green dinosaur with a oversized flower on its back towered over the surprised duo.

"What's that?" Yami Yugi said.

"A Venusaur?" Ash uttered.

"Venusaur!" Its orbed eyes glowed suspiciously red.

"Lookout! That Venusaur is possessed too!" Yami shouted warningly

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Ash commanded."

"Pika!" But before Pikachu could make a move, a black shapeless force infiltrated its yellow body and took control of its mind.

"Pika..." It squeaked in a trance-like state and its black eyes glowed red.

"Pikachu, what's wrong?" Ash asked in concern.

Pikachu did not move. He too had fallen victim to a dark magic curse!

"Pikachu!"

"SAUR!"

Ash and the pharaoh were alone in the face of the brainwashed botanical dinosaur Pokémon. From the shadows, Dark Bakura grinned maliciously. "Venusaur, use Vine Whip attack!"

"VEN-U-SAUR!" At once, Venusaur lashed out its vines. They wrapped themselves around the two heroes and snared them together, trapping and immobilizing them. They both yelled in alarm as Venasaur held them high in the air. (Ash's hat flew off from his head.) "Venusaur!"

"I'm trapped!" Yami hollered.

"Put us down, Venusaur!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, help us!"

But Pikachu did not respond. Its mind has been enslaved by the power of the Millennium Ring and the Ball of the Underworld, along with the other Pokémon.

"Venu!"

"Perfect! Now use Stun Spore!" Dark Bakura commanded.

"SAUR!" The green dinosaur obeyed and released a cloud of yellow suffocating pollen from its humongous petals, hazing over the tangled heroes, causing them to cough and choke.

"What's...happening?" Yami coughed.

"Stun...Spore!" Ash blurted out. "Don't...breath...stay...awake!" He moaned and passed out.

"I...can't...move!" Yami moaned. His eyes drooped down as his body became paralyzed by the Stun Spore. His vision became blurry and obscured as he tried to fight it. Eventually he succumbed and fell into a state of unconsciousness. Venasaur growled as it held its paralyzed victims in its snare.

"Heh heh heh heh! Well done, Venasaur!" Its controller, Yami Bakura stepped forth and approached his captured prisoners. "Two sleeping beauties!" He cackled in their faces. "My Pharaoh..." He mockingly bowed down to the unconscious former king of Egypt. "It has been a while. What a coincidence running to you here!"

"And look, not only did I have His Majesty, but I also got the little Pokémon traveller as well!" He seized the unconscious boy's cheeks and squeezed them. "Fate must on my side! His Pikachu will be of use to me!" He grinned malevolently as he glanced at the enslaved mouse Pokémon.

"As for these fools, I have a very special place for them in mind." He snickered as he held the Ball of the Underworld in his hand. "HA HA HA HA!"

* * *

"Unnnhhhh..." A light groaning emitted from Ash's mouth as he slowly regained consciousness. "What happened...to us?" When he opened his eyes, all he could see was blackness. "Wha...Why's everything so pitched black?"

There was deep groaning besides him. "Unnnhhh...Ash, is that you?"

"Yugi?" Ash's voice responded. "I can hear you right next to me, but I can't see you. In fact, I can't see anything at all."

"Me neither. Someone must have turned off the lights."

What they don't know is that the reason they couldn't see is because their eyes are completely strapped by stripped clothing tied around their heads.

The boys tried to move their limbs. "What? What's this? My body's immobilized!" The pharaoh gasped. Their wrists and ankles are cuffed tight to rimmed circle of a wooden wheel. They are bound to a torture wheel that stood between two weak blocks supported by only a rope made of white silk attached to the limb of a tree holding the wheeling in place.

"I can't move my body either! What's going on? Why can't we see or move?" Ash grunted, panic building inside him.

"Calm down, Ash. I'm sure there's a explanation."

"Heh, heh, heh! Indeed there is! Ha ha ha ha!" The familiar evil raspy voice cackled, belong to a white-haired boy who approached them in person.

"Who said that?" Ash ejected. "Who are you?"

Yami recognized that unforgettable sound right away. "Grrr...I know that voice! Bakura! You're behind this!"

"Correct, Pharaoh!" Yami Bakura walked toward his trapped prisoners. "How nice to see you again!"

"Uh, what's a Bakura?" Ash asked peculiarly.

"Isn't it funny how we keep running in to each other?" Yami Bakura said. "I especially didn't think you'd, the King of Games would come into the Pokémon laboratory when you're supposed to be on the dueling side minding your own beeswax!"

"What were you doing here in the Pokémon lab, Bakura?" Yami demanded.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I needed Professor Oak's information to tap into the locked power of the Ball of the Underworld."

"The Ball of the Underworld?" Ash repeated.

"I had to go all the way to Dynamo City to retrieve that Ball from the museum and dispose of fools who got in my way!"

"What?!" Ash ejected in shock.

"So it was _you_ stole the Ball of the Underworld!" Yami Yugi figured it out. "I've should have guessed it!"

"Once again, you are correct, Pharaoh!" Yami Bakura said. "With the power of my Millennium Ring, I can make the Pokémon do whatever I tell them to do! I can control any Pokémon I see, including your Pikachu."

"My Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu, under Bakura's control jumped on his shoulder and perched against his head.

"Pikachu?" Ash heard it.

"Pika, Pika." It uttered in zombie-like voice.

"Pikachu, what is wrong with you?" Ash ejected. "Get us down from here!"

"Your Pika pal is my buddy now," Yami Bakura chuckled and stroked his furry new slave.

"What have you done to him, you creep?" Ash asked, infuriated.

"You used your Millennium Ring to capture Pokémon, didn't you?!" The pharaoh snarled.

"You're on the ball today!" Yami Bakura said. "You're probably wondering why you're in this situation." He placed his hand on the wheel. "This wheel you're bounded to is what was called the Breaking Wheel, an ancient torture device that was used to punish victims for their crimes. Now it will be called the Wheel of Doom, suited for only you two."

The heroes looked afraid.

"The rope holding on the wheel is slowly being cut away by Spinerak on the branch." He pointed to the spider-like Pokémon who started snipping at the weak double-looped knot.

"As one strand breaks, the wheel will inclined forward where family of Nidorans will practice their Poison Stings on you."

When one knot broke, the wheel rolled forward, allowing Nidorino and Nidorina to fire their deadly sharp needles at the wooden circle, nearly hitting the heroes' faces.

"When all the knots of the rope breaks, the wheel will roll down, down, and down the hill until it crashes into the lake." He pointed to the lake downward. "And that's not all..." He added with malice in his sharp brown eyes. "...there is a school of Lanturn waiting to electrocute you underwater...and then with your bodies paralyzed, you will drown to your watery grave!"

Ash and Yami gasped in horror. "Pokémon, do not fail your master!" All the Pokémon with glowing red eyes perceived at once. "I will finally be rid of you meddlesome pests once and for all!" He cackled with sealed triumph.

"You're despicable! How could you do this to the Pokémon?" Ash growled angrily. "To my Pikachu!"

"What you're doing is wrong, Bakura!" Yami put in. "Don't you know Pokémon are meant to be friends, not slaves to control for your selfish needs!"

"If I were you, I'd worry less about the Pokémon and more about how will you survive?" Yami Bakura said.

"You are demented psychopath, Bakura! You have sunk to a whole new low!" Yami snarled.

"Why, thank you, pharaoh! It's nice to be appreciated." Bakura grinned malevolently. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to discuss with the old man. Pikachu, be a pal and make sure they don't survive."

"Pikachu!" It obligately received command and climbed onto a boulder to keep watch.

"Have fun struggling you two!" Yami Bakura laughed as he was heading back inside the lab.

"Bakura! You untie us at once!" The pharaoh shouted.

The thief spirit paused and looked behind. "Don't fret about it, Your Highness, I'll be back later...To collect that Millennium Puzzle from your dead bodies, that is!" He then turned his attention to the trapped boy. "And don't think I'd forgot about you, little boy! I'll look after your Pikachu. And maybe someday, it'll join you to the Shadow Realm once I'm done with him! Ha ha ha!" He laughed cruelly.

That angered Ash. Even with the cloth shielding his eyes and eyebrows, it's not difficult to tell just how furious he is. Both of the young boys grunted in desperation and struggled to break themselves free. Bakura kept on snickering as he was near the lab doors.

Ash grunted as he writhed his wrists in the tight bounds. "You...you won't get away with this, Bakura!" He snarled.

"Actually, I already did." The evil spirit sneered. He turned his back. "Toodle-loo, friends!" He passed through the doors, entering inside. "Parting is such sweet sorrow! AH HA HA HA!" Closing the doors behind him, he was gone, leaving the boys alone to their doom.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other friends Brock, May, Joey, and Tristan were having a mini match in the waiting room with borrowed Pokémon while Téa and Max were waiting, hoping for good results. "Marshtomp use Tackle Attack!" Brock commanded as his water Pokémon tackled against Forretress trained by Joey.

"Hey!" He exclaimed in awe.

"Combuskin, use Scratch Attack!" May commanded.

"Combuskin!" The flaming chicken Pokémon slashed against Munchlax.

"Aw, man!" Tristan pouted. "Munchlax, I told you to Defense Curl!"

"Don't pout, Tristan. You just got be tougher and they'll listen." May said.

"I wonder what's keepin' Nurse Joy?" Joey asked. "Shouldn't they be done by now?"

"I'm sure they're doing everything they can." Brock said. "Shouldn't be that serious."

"I hope that Stantler is okay," May said.

"Me too." Tristan said.

"I wonder how Yugi, Ash, and Pikachu are doing?" Téa asked.

"I'll bet you Ash and Yugi are having Mrs. Ketchum's famous 'welcome home' feast as we speak!" Max said. "Ash's mom is really a good cook? She can make a mean meal that will make your stomach happy!"

"That sounds tempting," Téa said.

The little boy smiled and chuckled. "If I know Ash, he's probably plopping onto a living room couch to sleep it off."

* * *

Back at the darkened Oak Correl, the leaders of two teams were still struggling on the breaking wheel. They squiggled and bended their bodies as they attempted to pull their wrists and ankles from the cuffs. But the more they struggle, the faster the Spinerak's cutting and the wheel they're trapped on is one inch closer to rolling downhill to the lake of electrifying Lanturn.

"Ash stop! It's no use!" Yami said. "We're only escalating our doom!"

"We can't give up!" Ash said. "We got to help Professor Oak and Tracey! We got to find that Bakura and make him free the Pokémon!"

"I know, but that's easier said than done! We're bound to this wheel and the ropes are breaking fast! Even if we do escape, the Pokémon on land will try and finish us off!"

The pharaoh wasn't wrong. The inhabitants on several parts of Oak Corral could detect prisoners if they tried to escape. No matter what they do, they're caught between a rock and a pond full of electric Lanturn. "This is really bad." Ash said.

"You think?" Yami agreed.

* * *

Back at the Pokémon center, Nurse Joy returned to the waiting room to tell the results. "How is the Stantler doing, Nurse Joy?" Brock asked.

"That Stanler is fine. There are no injuries, internal seriousness, or anything at all." The rose pink-haired nurse reported.

The friends looked relieved. "Dat's good news," Joey said.

"We may have to keep it overnight just to be safe," Nurse Joy said.

"You can keep me overnight anytime, Nurse Joy!" Brock said lovingly.

Max yanked him back by the ear. "No can do, Brock, your curfew's at 11:00!"

* * *

The two boys hung there for a while, but time was running out for them. "Any ideas, Pharaoh?" Ash asked hopefully, even though it seemed like a long shot.

"Well, I only got one. But we'll have to work together."

"But how will we do that? We can't even see where we are."

Yami thought straight. "Then if we can't use our eyes, we'll have to rely on our hearing."

The two muted their noises and let their ears sonar the sounds and noises in the pitch-black background.

"Nya-Nya! Nya-Nya!" The four Nidorans, male and females stood on opposite rows, ready to set fire. Their larger evolved forms growled as they're growing impatient, wanting to horn their opponents already. They can hear the crackling electric currents flowing in underwater by the Lanturn. Their ears also picked up two Rhyhorns sharping their horns in the rock area, a Primeape, Ursaring roughly scratching a tree, and Beedril buzzing in the trees.

"Okay, we know that a family of Nidorans are standing in the rolling path, waiting to shoot their Poison Sting on us." The pharaoh described.

"I'm picking up a swarm of Beedril in the forest," Ash added. "We better be careful."

"I know Pikachu is standing watch, making sure everything goes according to plan." Yami said.

"There's couple of Makuhita trying to prove who's the best." Ash said.

"I may have a plan But I can't guarantee it'll work. More like a 50% chance though and it's quite risky."

Ash thought about it for a minute and decided to take that risk. "I'm up for it!" He confirmed. "Better than hanging here doing nothing."

"Listen carefully. We got only one shot at this. Mess up and we're done for. Understood?"

"Got it."

* * *

Inside the lab, Professor Oak and Tracey are being kept prisoners by Marril, Venonat, Scyther, and Muk controlled by a Yami thief who paced around them like a warden. "Are we all comfortable here?" Yami Bakura said. "Good, then we can get started."

"Why are you doing this, Bakura?" Tracey spoke out in a scared tone. "What kind of trainer could do this to innocent Pokémon?"

"That's because I'm not a trainer at all, you incompetent fool. I'm a thief from 5,000 years in the past." The blackhearted teenager returned viciously. "Here's a history lesson; archaic trainers and duelists used to live together in harmony in Egypt. But one day, two worlds split apart because Cerberus couldn't take more of mortals' constant conflicts of Pokémon and Duel Monsters. He rose up from the Shadow Realm and tried to punish every mortal on the face of the planet."

"That is, until the foolish duo, the pharaoh of Egypt and the Pokémon traveler along with their mystic monsters interfered and ruined everything by sealing away the cherished ruler of the Shadow Ruler. And the only way to restore him is for a soul strong enough to fuel him to be sacrificed."

"If you already knew about all this, Bakura or whoever you are, then why do you still require my knowledge?" Professor Oak inquired.

"Because you are one of the most famous researchers in the world and you are the one who can solve the mystery of this..." Yami Bakura paused to pull out a dark orb from his sweatshirt. "The Ball of the Underworld."

The two stared at it with shock. "Where did you get that?" Professor Oak asked.

"It belonged rightfully to Zorc the Dark One." Yami Bakura returned smoothly. "Mortals should never take lightly of the Guardian of the Shadow Realm."

At the concurrent time while Bakura retold the story of Cerberus, the friends departed from the Pokémon Center, on their way to the Pokémon lab. Inside the examination room, strange things were happening. Chansey frighteningly scattered from the room as something evil and phenomenal rose up from the patient.

_"Cerberus was worshipped by a olden army of Pokémon poachers. They marched from Rome to Egypt to gather the Millennium Items to bring forth their god from the Shadow Realm. The leader of Team Rocket paid the ultimate price and had his soul sacrificed to the guardian of the Shadow Realm."_

It turned out that Stanler was possessed by a vengeful spirit of a certain leader of old Team Rocket.

_"Needless to say, his soul had powered up Cerberus and had almost ruled the world."_

Bakura gripped on the Pokémon watcher's dark green hair tightly. Scyther held the blade underneath his neck. "Scyther, please don't!" Tracey wheezed. "Don't you remember me? I'm your trainer!"

"Silence, boy!" Yami Bakura barked. "Your Scyther obeys only me now!"

Tracey whimpered and kept quiet.

"Knock it off, Bakura!" Professor Oak ejaculated. "Leave him alone!"

"If you want your assistant's head to remained attached to his shoulders, you'll give in my demands!" The thief spirit snapped. "The Millennium Ring sees all. That's why I came here."

"You'll never find out about its secrets!" Professor Oak vowed. "I'll never tell you anything.

"We'll just see about that, old man." The Yami spirit returned coldly.

* * *

"Alright then. If we can confuse the Pokémon, we might trick them into fighting each other, and the chances are that their random attacks may our way out of this situation." The pharaoh strategized.

"So all we had to do was make animal noises, and the Pokémon will think they're being challenged and their blind attacks cut us loose from this wheel." Ash said.

"Exactly," Yami agreed. "I know it's a mean thing to do, but it's the only way to get us off this wheel."

"I just hope your plan works, Pharaoh."

"Me too." They both took deep breaths.

"Here goes." Ash cleared his throat and started shouting. "Hey, you Pokémon! Think you're so tough?!"

"We Pokémon are challenging you!" Yami hollered.

That got the Pokémon's attention.

"Nya-Nya! Nya-Nya!" Ash imitated the female Nidorans' calls which were on his side of the shooting spot.

"Nya?" The blue poison pins looked at each other, wondering if one of them said something.

"Nya-Nya!" Yugi grunted in a make Nidoran language. (Pharaoh had to switch back because of his deep voice might give away.) "Nya-Nya!"

The pink male littles ones picked it up, believing one of them is challenging each other. They looked at one another, growling in response. The blue Nidoran hissed at each other, about to start a catfight.

Ash and Yugi braced themselves, hoping the Nidorans' rash moves will hit the metal restraints instead of themselves.

The Poison Sting needles bounced off when they clashed together and hit the cuffs restraining Yami's ankle and Nidoran's Scratch missed Attack slashed open Ash's bounded wrist.

"It's working. Keep going." Yami said ecstatically.

They continued makng Nidoran voices until they drove into aggressive mode and went into war.

Pikachu noticed around and wondered what is going on.

So far, the last three cuffs have been broken loose by Nidorans' skirmish. All that was left now is the last bondage on their right wrists and they have to pull themselves free before Spinerak cuts the last knot. Finally, Ash and Yugi each called out to the evolved Nidorans, thinking that their counter-sexes are wooing each other. Nidorina and Nidorino bought it completely and launched toward each other, cutting the silky rope that held the spinning wheel.

With complete haste, Ash and Yami yanked themselves free and landed in opposed paths, just in time to hear the spinning wheel roll down the hill and splashed into the lake where it got zapped to burned wood by the Lanturn.

Both of them removed the blindfolds from their head, finally able to see again. "Alright! It worked!" Ash praised. "We're free!"

"CHAII!" A lighting bolt zapped from the sky and nearly hit the heroes. "Pika!" It was Ash's mind-controlled companion who landed in front of them in confrontation.

"We're not out of the frying pan just yet!" Yami said.

"Pikachu, don't do this! We're your friends!" Ash tried to get through to his companion. "You're being controlled by Bakura!"

But Pikachu did not listen. The duo are soon surrounded by evil Pokémon.

"This is bad." Yami grunted.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Ash asked his tricolored comrade.

"Pika!" It made its first move on the defenseless heroes who fearfully waited to be struck.

Just then, out of nowhere, a large three-clawed foot dove in and smacked Pikachu, sending him skidding backwards.

"Huh?" Ash and Yugi looked up in question.

"HITMONLEE!" The mysterious figure swooshed in a circle, preventing other Pokémon from interfering.

It landed on top of a boulder. "It's Hitmonlee!" Ash exclaimed.

"Hitmonlee?" Yami repeated.

"That's the Pokémon I won in the Dojo back in Saffron City," Ash said. "I transported it to Professor Oak's laboratory before I got on the bus to Dynamo City."

"Hit-Mon-Lee!" Hitmonlee stood on the boulder, looking normal than the rest of the Pokémon.

"Looks like Bakura missed that one," Yami said.

"Hitmonlee!" It uttered out and looked at the pharaoh in hint.

Yami stared at the fighting Pokémon carefully. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Hitmonlee wants to be your Pokémon," Yugi's spirit translated. "It wants to help us."

"Hitmonlee!" It replied affirmatively.

"Can you train Hitmonlee?" Ash asked.

"I don't know," the pharaoh replied. "It's been a long while since I've been around Pokémon,"

Furious, Pikachu got on its feet and once again charged full throttle at its own friends!

"Pikachu, no!" Ash screamed.

Yami's Millennium Puzzle glowed and Pikachu froze in its tracks. "Chaaiii!" Its body is immobilized by the power of ancient light magic.

"What did you do to Pikachu, Pharaoh?" Ash asked in awe.

"I'm not sure. But I think it may have something to do with my Millennium magic," Yami said.

"Please don't hurt Pikachu, Yugi!" Ash pleaded. "He's under the control of Bakura!"

"Bakura placed a dark spell on you and the Pokémon, but maybe I can reverse it with counter magic." The glowing eye symbol appeared on the pharaoh's forehead and approached the immobilized mouse Pokémon.

"It will hurt, Pikachu, but it's the way to save you. Evil spirit, BEGONE!" He called out and casted his exorcising spell.

"CHAAAIII!" The possessed mouse Pokémon screeched in agony as the yellow eye symbol appeared on his little yellow head and purified his mind, expelling the evil shadow from his body.

"Pikachu!" Ash rushed to his fainted comrade.

Yami turned to the other possessed Pokémon with liberating white magic.

"Pokémon that have been brainwashed by Bakura, I set you all free by the power of Millennium magic of light! OBLIVION TO ALL CERBERUS' MINIONS!"

The Pokémon screeched in torment as the good pharaoh's spell sanctified each and every one of them, eliminating every evil substance infecting the living creatures.

"Pikachu, are you alright?" Ash held his tiny furry comrade in concern. "Speak to me!"

"Pika..." It opened its black eyes and peered at the boy's face.

Ash beamed in joy. "Pikachu!"

"Pika!" It looked happy to its comrade, safe and alive.

"I thought Bakura was going to take you away from me!" He hugged Pikachu tightly. It cocked its head in confusion.

The Pokémon are back to normal. They looked around the background, wondering what happened to them.

"You did it, Pharaoh! The Pokémon are free!" Ash said.

Yami breathed out in relief. "Yes, so it did." He grinned. "Good job, Hitmonlee. Thanks alot." He credited his companion.

"Hit-mon!" The kicking Pokémon responded, happy it could help its human comrades.

"Now, only we could contact our friends."

"Oh no! I forgot about our friends!" Ash remembered in concern. "We got to warn them of what's going on here!"

"Pika, Pika!" It nodded.

"I know." The pharaoh turned to the freed Pokémon. "Listen up, Pokémon.p! Bakura has the Ball of the Underworld and he's forcing research information out of Professor Oak. If he gets hold of that, Cerberus will be unleashed and he'll bring disaster to both Pokémon and mankind." The Pokémon expressed in shock and horror. "We need to stop him. The whole world will be danger unless we work together."

"I'm not a trainer like Ash, and don't have time to train you all, but I do need your help." He looked at them with requesting purple eyes. "If I can gain your trust..." He bent down and eyed on the Nidoran couple and a Spinda.

The Pokémon in the Oak Correl looked at the pharaoh curiously, thinking it's time they repay him for helping them out.


	23. Showdown in the Shadow Realm

**Sorry for the wait.**

**I'll try to post a new chapter this week.**

**Hope you enjoy this long chapter**

The friends, Joey, Téa, May, Max, Tristan, and Brock were nearly there at the Oak Laboratory, walking down a dirt road. "Do you think Ash and Yugi are already inside the lab?" Max asked.

"They should be," Brock said. "After all, the pharaoh needs to learn more about his past. Professor Oak's research should be able help him."

"Is that it?" Téa pointed up ahead.

"That's it. Professor Oak's laboratory." Said Max. The group walked up the steps to the research building, unaware of what's happening inside.

Professor Oak, Tracey and the Pokémon at the heard a doorbell ring downstairs. Yami Bakura growled in annoyance. "Now what? Who dares interrupt my session?"

Professor Oak and Tracey looked up in inquiry, worrying who else will be in danger.

Brock, Joey, Max, Tristan, May and Téa entered the building which is awfully quiet.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Brock called.

"That's weird. It's a little too quiet in here." May said.

"Maybe they're upstairs already," Joey assumed.

The eight walked toward up the second floor, where a malevolent spirit is at his dirty work. "Hello?" Brock called out when his head became visible from the top of the stairs.

The gang then noticed Tracey and Professor Oak sitting on the couch, surrounded. "Hey, there's Tracey!" Max said.

"And Professor Oak," added Brock.

Tracey and Professor Oak turned around and noticed company. "Get back! Don't come any closer!" The Pokémon watcher warned.

"Huh?" The friends looked at him in confusion. Suddenly, they were encircled by demon Pokémon.

"What da heck?" Joey emitted.

"What's wrong with these Pokémon?" May asked, looking scared.

"They've gone wacko!" Joey exclaimed.

The evil Pokémon glared at them menacingly, threatening to tear them apart. "That's enough, Pokémon!" An evil voice barked to them. "Bring them to me!"

A Houndoom barked at the scared trainers and urged them not to make any moves.

"Nice doggy!" Brock whimpered.

"Stay behind me!" Téa said, shielding May and Max.

"What's up with these Pokémon?" Joey exclaimed.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say they're being enslaved by whatever it is!" Tristan guessed.

The Pokémon growled and snarled as they joined more hostages next to Professor Oak and Tracey.

"Tracey, what's going on?" Max asked fearfully.

"That will be all, my pets! Do not harm them, unless I tell you to!" The voice urged.

The Pokémon backed away from the hostages in a circle as Yami Bakura stood in front of the scared friends. "Well, well, look what the Delcatty has dragged in!" He boomed.

"Who are you?" May uttered in fear.

The dueling friends recognized their schoolmate. "Wha? Bakura?" Joey spoke up in surprise.

"It _is_ Bakura," Téa said.

"But what's he doing here?" Tristan asked. They certainly weren't expecting to see their friend in the Poké side of the world.

"Bakura?" Brock, May, and Max echoed in unison.

"Fancy seeing you guys," Yami Bakura addressed his old friends. "Haven't seen you since Battle City."

"What are you up to this time, Bakura?" Joey asked. "Are you behind dis?"

"Aren't we all being nosy?" The Yami spirit replied. "With the magic of my Millennium Ring, these Pokémon are my slaves! They will make sure that my plans will not be intervened! The Ball of the Underworld is my possession and I will not let anyone take it!" The Ball of the Underworld became visible in his sweatshirt as it glowed menacingly red as Cerberus' soul was growing impatient.

The friends gaped in shock for they could not believe what they are seeing.

"You're crazy, Bakura! You know that?" Joey exclaimed.

"Did he say he has the Ball of the Underworld?" Max uttered.

"How could you do such a thing?" May ejected.

"Pokémon are living things!" Téa said.

"Stealing the Ball of the Underworld is one thing, but forcing Pokémon to do bad stuff is seriously messed up!" Tristan added.

"Silence! You have seen too much already!" Yami Bakura snapped and glared at the trainers maliciously. "I shall dispose of you shortly. Your souls shall be sacrificed to the great Guardian of the Shadow Realm."

The trainers whimpered in fear.

"You leave them out of this, Bakura!" Tristan said. "They haven't done anything to you!"

"Wait til Ash and Yugi get here! And then you're gonna wish you'd never set foot here in the lab!" Téa asserted feistily.

"Your friends are long gone, little girl!" Yami Bakura replied icily. "By now, they are resting at the bottom of the lake."

"Think again, Bakura!" A heroic boy's voice occurred.

"What?" Yami Bakura looked behind him.

Yami and Ash stood at the doorway, looking vengefully serious. Pikachu was back on their side, also looking angry. "Pikachu!"

The friends beamed in delight.

"You're still alive?" Dark Bakura snarled in disgust. "You're starting to get on my nerves!"

"Your sick game ends here!" The pharaoh announced. "Time to pay what you done!"

Yami Bakura's eyebrows lowered in rage. "I don't think so! Don't forget, I still have Pokémon to do my bidding!" He pointed to his side of Pokémon who is still under his control. "If you try to make any unwise moves, your friends will suffer the consequences." The friends looked up pleadingly, begging their leaders to rescue them.

"Not for long! I will set those Pokémon free with my Millennium magic!" Yami Yugi declared. "I've already liberated these Pokémon and I can save the rest from your wicked spell!"

"Pikachu!"

Yami Bakura's evil smirk curled up even higher. He laughed robustiously loud, it filled up the research lab. The duo looked at him strangely. "What's so funny?" Ash asked.

"You've fallen right into my trap!" Yami Bakura remarked. "This is the beginning of your torment!"

"Huh?" The heroic duo stared in confusion.

"Know the phase 'gotta catch em all'?" Yami Bakura remarked. "Well You got to start somewhere, and the Shadow Realm is the first place to looking..." His Millennium Ring jiggled and the Eye of Wdjat glow.

"Oh man, I knew he was going to try something that," Tristan said, looking afraid.

"Why? What's he up to?" Max asked in confusion.

"Pika?"

Yami Yugi and Ash stared in suspense. They had a very bad feeling of this. Yami Bakura chuckled sinisterly as his Millennium Ring and the Ball of the Underworld luminesced synchronously and the entire background dissolved into nothingness, being replaced with darkness. Everyone exclaimed in fright as the laughing thief spirit was taking them to another dimension...a dimension full of shadows.

* * *

Briefly, everyone opened their eyes at once. They looked around themselves and found out they are no longer located in the research laboratory. "Where are we?" Ash asked. "Where have you taken us, Bakura?"

"HA HA HA HA!" Dark Bakura cackled. "Welcome to the Shadow Realm!"

"The Shadow Realm?" Ash repeated.

"Pika Pika?"

"That can't be good." Tristan said. He and the gang are dome inside a barrier that separated them from their friends.

"What's going on? Why's everything so dark?" Tracey asked.

The dueling friends recognized it and knew exactly where they are. "Oh man! Please, tell me we're not in another Shadow Game!" Tèa said gravelly.

"What's the Shadow Games?" May asked.

"They're bad news," Joey said. "Nothing but trouble!"

"I've read about the Shadow Games," Professor Oak said. "And I have a feeling that it's not going to be pretty."

"You can say that again," Téa said.

The trainers looked up with confusion.

"Yugi, are we going to have to duel this guy?" Ash asked his partner cautiously.

Yami Bakura smirked sinisterly as he kept his arched eyes on foes, facing opposite on the other side. "On the contrary, my dear traveler, we going to have a Pokémon battle."

"A Pokémon battle?" Ash and Yami Yugi repeated in unison. The fog cleared up and the gang found themselves standing in a traditional Pokémon battlefield under a dark ambience, facing Bakura in the opposite side.

"That's right. We're going to battle our Pokémon right here, right now," the thief spirit said.

"'Our Pokémon'? What are you talking about?" Yami Yugi looked with confusion.

"But you don't have any Pokémon, Bakura." Ash pointed it out. "And neither does the Pharaoh."

"Actually, I do..." He displayed his six Poké balls in his belt.

The friends gawked in surprise. "Since when is Bakura a Pokémon trainer?" Tristan asked.

"Where did you get those, Bakura?" Yami Yugi asked.

"If you look at your belt, Pharaoh, you should be equipped with six fresh Poké balls." The thief spirit pointed, ignoring the pharaoh's question.

"Huh?" Yami Yugi looked inside his jacket and his belt. To his surprise, his deck and duel disk was replaced with a total of six equipped Poké balls. "What?" His violet eye widened.

"The pharaoh has got six Poké balls in his belt!" Téa said.

"But how? He didn't catch any Pokémon," Joey said.

"That's because I put them there myself," Yami Bakura explained. "Since the pharaoh doesn't have his own, I had him borrowed each of those brats' Pokémon. Each one should be able to obey commands from the pharaoh. So he's good to go."

Yami Yugi was speechless.

"Now wait just a minute, Bakura!" Ash objected.

"Here in the Shadow Realm, the rules are different," Yami Bakura explained, ignoring the boy's protest. "In ancient times, just like duelists used to duel with monsters, trainers battled their Pokémon in the Shadow Games to test out their strength. Whoever loses the battle, loses their soul." He leered devilishly.

"What do you mean whoever loses the battle, loses his soul?" Ash asked.

"You'll soon find out," Yami Bakura smirked deviously. "Oh and we got a audience right behind us"

Behind him were five more souls of his prisoners shackled in the caliginous air. "Just like your pathetic friends, they got an important role."

"Who are dose guys?" Joey asked.

The trainers recognized their friends and rivals.

"No way!" Ash gasped as he knew his old rival from Kanto.

"That's my grandson!" Professor Oak exclaimed in awe as he spotted his only grandson hanging in the shackles.

"Drew!" May recognized the green-haired boy.

"And Harley!" Max analyzed the purple haired boy.

"And Cassidy and Booth!" Brock added.

Butch bawled in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you people that my name is Butch?! Butch! BUTCH!"

"Why are you doing this, Bakura?" Yami Yugi asked.

"I decided to 'borrow' their Pokémon and take their souls along for the ride." The thief spirit explained.

Ash and Yami Yugi were horrified at what they heard.

"Somebody please help me!" Harley cried his frightened eyes out. "I'm too young to die!"

Max slumped in fear. "I don't like this, you guys." He said in scared tone, clinging on to his sister's arm. "I'm scared."

"You should be scared," Tristan said gravely. "The Shadow Games are no laughing matter."

"The battle is about to begin," Yami Bakura informed. "I suggest you take your positions and prepare your Pokémon. Don't participate and your friends will suffer the consequences." His eyes shifted to his scared prisoners threateningly.

"Be careful, Ash." Yami Yugi warned. "Shadow Games are nothing like regular battles. Any wrong move we make may be our last."

Ash growled as he glared at the white-haired fiend.

"Pika, Pika."

"Oh and one more thing: I have your precious mommy right here, traveler!" Yami Bakura pointed to two more prisoners trapped in a cage that appeared from the another area of the Shadow Realm.

"That's my mom!" Ash cried.

"Pikachu!"

"And Mimey!" May added.

The people trapped in the Shadow Realm gaped in horror. "He's got Ash's mom and Mimey in his clutches!" Tracey said.

"In case you try to get of this with your magic, Pharaoh, Mrs. Ketchum's mind will take a permanent trip to the Shadow Realm forever!" Yami Bakura promised.

Delia whose head was slumped down inside her crouched knees rose up. Her dull eyes opened up, still under the control of the horrible thief spirit. "Do what he says, Ash," she uttered in the possessed tone. "Battle him or she dies!"

"Mom, snap out of it!" Ash cried.

"This has gone too far, Bakura!" Yami Yugi said.

"Silence! I make the rules of this game!" Yami Bakura snapped. "Either of you has to go up against me first! So choose...

Ash growled and gritted his teeth in rage.

"This is really messed up!" Tristan said.

"Bakura is definitely asking for it!" Joey added.

"Shouldn't they just compromise?" Professor Oak asked.

"We will use six Pokémon each with no time limit." Yami Bakura instructed. "Let the Pokémon Shadow Game begin!"

The bold and daring duo faced their foe in a dark Pokémon showdown.

"I'll go first." Ash determinedly opposed. "I'll make you pay for taking my mom! Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pika!" Pikachu stepped inside the field.

"Wait-Ash!" Yami Yugi stepped in to warn him.

"Let me do it, Pharaoh! I took on a lot of Pokémon battles in the past and you only had few." Ash replied pointedly. "So I'll battle him for you!"

"Very well, traveler. You get to experience the nightmares of the Shadow Games. I have already selected my first Pokémon," Yami Bakura smirked, enlarging his first Poké ball. "Go, Poké ball!" He threw it across the field.

Standing in the middle is a two-legged cactus with large thorny "fists", beady eyes, and a dark green leaf shaped like a hat on its head.

"Isn't that Harley's Cacturne?" Max asked.

"Bakura must be using the other trainers' Pokémon." Brock said.

"But for what?" Téa asked.

"Cacturne, use Mega Punch!"

"Cacturne!" The cactus Pokémon obeyed and threw his prickly limbs at its opponent.

"Pikachu, use Agility!"

"Pika!" Pikacha quickly dodged Cacturne's Mega Punch side by side.

"Cact-urne!" The cactus Pokémon frustratedly swung its arm at the speeding lightning mouse who instantly evaded.

"Cacturne, use Pin Missile!" Yami Bakura hollered.

Cacturne obeyed and ejected several black thorns from its arms.

"Pikachu, jump!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu jumped up in the air, barely eluding the launching black needles. But when one hit it on the hind leg, it yelped in pain and plummeted hard on the ground. "Chai!"

At the same time, Ash felt a sharp pain assaulting his lower leg, exactly where Pikachu was struck. He yelled in agony and held his leg in pain.

"Ash!" The friends cried in concern.

"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked.

"What happened, Ash?" Yami Yugi asked.

"Unh...I...I'm not sure," Ash groaned in response, rubbing his leg. "When Cacturne struck Pikachu, I could actually feel the sharp needle puncturing through my leg. It's weird, but it's like Cacturne attacked me too."

"What?" Yami looked with confusion turned back to the game. Yami Bakura grinned deviously.

"What?" Yami looked with confusion turned back to the game. Yami Bakura grinned deviously.

"What happened to Ash?" Joey asked.

"I'm not sure," Professor Oak replied.

"Pi...Pikachu...Use, Quick Attack!" Ash groaningly uttered a command.

"Pika!" Faster than a blow of air, Pikachu sprinted rapidly and bashed Cacturne in the torso. Harley yelled in agony as he felt the sudden impact coursing through his body out of nowhere.

The friends watched with confound horror. "What's wrong with Harley?" May asked.

"He looks like he's being attacked by Pikachu!" Téa said.

"But he's nowhere near Pikachu!" Max said.

"Heh heh heh! I guess I should have explained earlier," Yami Bakura said. "As I said earlier, the rules in the Shadow Realm are different. Whenever their Pokémon takes a hit, the trainer too will feel its pain. The bond between a trainer and his Pokémon determined the fate between them in the battle. So your Pokémon's pain will be your pain. If it faints, you faint too. If it gets sent to the Shadow Realm, you too will be sent to the Shadow Realm!"

Ash and Pikachu gawked in horror. The friends looked horrified.

"That's crazy!" Joey said.

"Don't believe me? Go ahead and attack Cacturne if you got the guts," Yami Bakura dared.

"Fine! You're just saying stuff so you can catch me off guard!" Ash said. "Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

"Ash, no!" Yami Yugi shouted warningly.

But Pikachu charged across the field in a ball of supercharged electricity and thrashed Cacturne, completely wiping all of Caturne's health.

Harley squalled direfully as he felt the Volt Tackle attacking his body. His agonized screams terrified the prisoners and disturbed the ears of the heroes. Defeated, Cacturne keeled over and collapsed on the ground.

"Cacturne is unable to battle," Yami Bakura declared. "My first victims are the souls of Harley and his Cacturne!"

The defeated cactus and the doomed purple-haired boy disappeared form the shackles and field and their souls transported to the thief spirit's hands.

Everyone gawked in horror.

Dark Bakura held out two cards, revealing a terrified Harley and a agonized Cacturne whose souls has been imprisoned. "Oh no! Harley!" Ash shouted.

"Their souls belong to Cerberus now!" Yami Bakura grinned. "That's a keeper!"

Ash stood frozen, petrified by what he saw. First time seeing the dark magic of Shadow Realm, he'd never had to see a person lose his soul after his Pokémon fainted, let alone feel its pain.

Everyone was horrified. "I take it back! That's really messed up" Tristan said.

"Oh man, the Shadow Game are getting freakier every another minute!" Brock said, shuddering.

"I told ya, Shadow Games are nothing but bad news!" Joey said.

"Poor Harley," May said. "Even though he's a big jerk, he doesn't deserve that."

"You see what I'm talking about?" Yami Yugi said. "The Shadow Games are too dangerous for you. I should battle Bakura. I'm more compatible to Shadow Games."

"I guess you're right." Ash obligatorily accepted. "Pikachu, return!" He retracted his Pokémon.

"Pika!"

Yami Yugi stepped inside the battlefield, ready to face his archenemy. "It's you and me now, Bakura! Time to battle!"

"Wise choice, Pharaoh!" Yami Bakura smirked in pleasure. "Go Poké Ball!" He threw another one and out came a gray wolf-like with leering red eyes and a snarl.

"I think that's Bill's Mightyena." Ash said.

"I told you it's BUTCH!" The blue haired teen snapped.

"Here goes nothing." Yami Yugi picked up the first Poké ball from his belt and enlarged it. "GO, Poké Ball!" He threw out another Poké Ball, revealing a mantis-like Pokémon.

"Scyther!"

"Alright, who's Scyther is this?" Yami asked.

"That's Tracey's," Ash informed. He and Yami eyed on the anxious Pokémon watcher.

"Now what are its attacks?" Yugi thought.

"Cut and Agility!" Tracey advised.

Yami got it. "Right. Scyther, use Swords Dance!"

"Sy-ther!" The mantis Pokémon twirled around and majestically rose its bladed up and down, boosting its accuracy.

"Mightyena, Leer!" Yami Bakura interposed.

At his command, Mightyena's eyes glowed yellow and it deliberately caused Scyther to freeze in its tracks.

"Scyther, Cut Attack!" The pharaoh commended.

"Scyther!" The bug slasher charged against the dark canine Pokémon.

"Double-Team!" Dark Bakura commanded.

"Grr!" It made multiple copies of itself, surrounding the mantis Poke'mon.

"Scy?" Scyther stood there, confused and unable to find the real one. Yami gasped.

"Oh no!"

"Perfect! Now take it out with Super Fang Attack!" The wicked man commanded.

Mightyena barked fiercely and took a big bite out of Scyther's arm, delivering pain to it and its original owner. Tracey yelled in agony as he clenched his arm, feeling the bite.

"Tracey!" The friends shouted.

"Tracey, are you alright?" Yami asked.

"I'm...I'm okay!" The Pokémon watcher breathed out. "Don't worry about me, Yugi! Stay focused!"

Yami turned back to the battle, glaring at his opponent. "Alright, that's it! No more Mister Nice Guy!" He growled. "Scyther, use Quick Attack!"

"SCYYYYY-" Scyther flew at lightning speed and smacked Mightyena across, delivering payback pain to its owner.

Ash shouted to stop him. "Stop it, Yugi! You're hurting Bob!-"

("Butch!")

"If you keep that up, he and his Pokémon will be sent to the Shadow Realm!"

"I'm aware of that, Ash, but if we don't fight, Bakura will win!" Yami Yugi said firmly. "But I promise you I will get everyone's soul back just as soon as I win." His fist clenched. "Hang int there, Butch! I will set you free!"

"I told you it's-" Butch lessened in surprise. "Wait a second, did you just call me Butch? You called me Butch! That spiky-haired weirdo called me Butch! That's my name!" He sputtered in excitement. "Ha ha! Finally, someone got my name right!" He was so ecstatic that he forgot about being Dark Bakura's pawn in his twisted game.

"Who cares about your name issues? We're still doomed!" Cassidy snapped.

"Scyther, use X-Scissors!" The Pharaoh hollered.

'SCYYYYY-THEEEERRR!" The insect clashed its scythes together in an "X", and as soon they shone in a light of purple, Scyther charged and sliced through Mightyena, leaving an "x" mark on its body, defeating it in the process.

"Mightyena is unable to battle," Yami Bakura said. "Another soul for me to claim!"

_Forgive me, Butch!_ Yami thought as Bakura claimed another soul in his card.

Cassidy wailed. "I don't want to be next!"

"This is awful!" Tristan said.

"Not even poor Bill deserves be sent to the Shadow Realm," Tracey said.

"I choose my third Pokémon!" Yami Bakura stated and threw another Poké ball in the field. The third Pokémon was purple shadow Pokémon with diamond eyes.

"That's my Sableye!" Cassidy certified.

"Scyther, return!" Yami Yugi recalled his Pokémon back in his Pokémon. He switched to a different Poké ball. "Go, Poké ball!" His second Pokémon is a certain water Pokémon belonging to a certain gym leader.

"I believe this is Brock's Marshtomp," Yami Yugi identified.

"Give it everything you got, Yugi!" Brock encouraged, feeling anxious inside.

"Sableye, use Frustration." Yami Bakura ordered.

The Darkness Pokémon growled in rage and rapidly tried to pound on the mud fish Pokémon.

"Marshtomp, use Bide!" Yami Yugi commanded.

"Marsh-Tomp!" Marshtomp obeyed and positioned itself in an idle state in its place while Sableye continued to pummel it with its Frustration.

"How you holding up, Brock?" Yami Yugi checked on his friend.

Brock groaned in torment as he could actually feel Sableye's smarting claws attack his body.

Holding Pikachu in his arms, Ash stood there hopelessly,

"What's Yugi doing?" Tristan asked. "Why he letting Marshtomp take the damage from Sableye? Doesn't he remember that when the Pokémon are attacked, our friends will the pain?"

"Wait for it..." Brock grunted.

"Now! Use Bide Attack!" Yami Yugi shouted in command.

By the power of Bide, Marshtomp unleashed the burden of damage it received during the last few idle turns and delivered it back to his opponents.

Cassidy screamed as she and Sableye were sent to Shadow Realm at the hands of Yami Yugi.

_Sorry, Cassidy. _Yami thought gravelly.

Brock moaned as he crashed onto the floor, aching from enduring Marshtomp's Bide.

"HA HA HA HA! Another more two sacrificial souls for Cerberus!" Yami Bakura laughed.

"You demon!" Yami hissed.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Yami Bakura smirked.

Time after time, each Pokémon clashed with each other Next, Roselia, Drew's Rose Pokémon sent Marshtomp to the Shadow Realm by Razor Leaf, along with Brock's. It then was sent to the Shadow Realm after losing to May's Combusken. In the following Muk and Professor Oak were next sent to Shadow Realm by Bakura's mysterious new Pokémon environed in illusionary mist that deludes the opponent's eyes, especially a nightly attack that could leave them hallucinated for Muk was knocked out, Professor Oak too fell unconscious, as his soul has been imprisoned into Bakura's seal card!

"Professor!" Everyone cried in horror.

"Grandpa!" Gary shouted in terror.

"NO! NOT HIM!" Ash and Yami screamed.

Dark Bakura presented a card that showed a picture of his next victim. The aghast elder man and the sludge Pokémon are now trapped inside the soul card. "Now I got the old geezer in the Shadow Realm!"

"You monster!" Ash growled.

Yami Yugi growled in anger.

"I don't know how much more I can take!" Ash griped in despair.

"Pika, Chu!" It was just as scared as he is.

"Don't give up, Ash!" The pharaoh assured. "For your mother's sake, we must keep faith! Mark my words that Bakura will be defeated! I will bring save everyone's souls!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the real world, Jessie, Rex, James, Weevil, and Meowth wandered aimlessly in the neck of the woods. They looked very tired and seemed to be lost.

"Are you sure you know the right way, James?" Rex asked. "We've been walking for hours and my feet are starting to kill me."

"Relax, Rex. I know where we are," James replied. "I know these woods like the back of my hand."

"He doesn't even know where his back hand is," Jessie muttered.

"Is it me or does everything look so familiar?" Meowth asked.

"Don't be silly, Meowth! If we were lost, we would have noticed," James said.

"Meowth's right! Look! We passed that same tree over and over!" Weevil pointed to a large thick in the midst. "Face it, we're lost!"

Everyone turned accusing glares toward awkward blue-haired teen.

"You said you knew where you're going!" Jessie growled.

"Hey, don't blame me!" James pouted. "It was Rex's idea!"

"What? All I said was 'we should take a shortcut down the woods'!" Rex protested. "You're the one who wanted to lead."

"All you're leading us is to a headache," Meowth grumbled, facepalming.

"Hey, nobody asked you, furball!" Rex and James retorted.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Oh, shut up, Wobbuffet!" Weevil retorted.

The five started bickering at once, throwing spits of dislike and disapproval.

* * *

Back in the Shadow Realm, things were about to turn uglier for our heroes. The battling trainers were down to two Pokémon. All that was left were Tracey and Max after his sister and the others were sent to the Shadow Realm. He was all alone with Joey, Tristan, and Téa who held him in comfort. Yami Bakura threw out the fifth Poké balll. "I choose you, Nidoking!"

A large purple monster with a long horn, bulky muscles, and a thick tail appeared on the field.

"That's Gary's Nidoking!" Ash said.

"Get him, guys!" Max hollered. "Avenge my sister! Show him no mercy!"

"I've got one more Pokémon left! Ground types are weak against fighting!" Yami Yugi said. "I'll use Hitmonlee to bring down Nidoking! He will be down in one round!"

"Yugi!" Ash warned pleadingly.

"I'm not too worry about that," Yami Bakura remarked. "It isn't me who is going to suffer the consequences..." He smirked and turned his eyes to his trapped prisoner who breathed out in fear.

"Gary..." Ash uttered out.

Yami Yugi pitched his Poké ball like "Hitmonlee, I choose you-"

"STOP!" Ash couldn't stand around anymore. "Pikachu, get in there!"

"Pika!" It jumped into the field

"Ash, what are you doing?" Yami asked.

"I can't let you defeat Nidoking! Gary and his Pokémon will be sent to the Shadow Realm!" Ash rebutted.

"Don't worry about me, Ash!" Gary said. "You do what you got to do!"

"Pikachu, fight Nidoking!" Ash ordered.

"Chu..." Pikachu, doubtlessly outclassed stood in front of the oversized poison pin giant.

"Pikachu' doesn't have a chance against Nidoking!" Yami Yugi said.

"At least Gary will be safe." Ash returned.

"Don't be a hero, Ash!" Yami shook his head.

"This will be perfect! Now I will have the traveler's soul in my grasp!" Yami Bakura smirked. "Enough to empower Cerberus' soul!"

"You don't have to do this, Ash!" The pharaoh urged. "If Bakura takes your soul, Cerberus will be unleashed!"

"But if we don't win, our friends will be lost in the Shadow Realm forever!" Ash argued. "Pikachu, Take Down!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu dashed toward the large beast with every desperate strength.

Yami Bakura grinned maliciously as this was his chance to make his move. "Nidoking, use Poison Sting!"

"Nido-King!" The orchid poison pin Pokémon thrusted his piercing envenomed horn at the charging mouse.

"PIKACHU!" The friends shouted.

"Pika!" It gasped as it was about to halt.

"Pikachu, lookout!" Ash shouted warningly.

But it was too late.

Gary, Yami Yugi, and the friends choked out at the atrocity. Ash felt as if something has something has literally pierced him in the stomach. Pikachu took a direct hit from the Poison Sting!

"CHAAAAIIII!" Immediately effective, the deadly venom injected inside its body began draining it of its strength.

"Oh no! Pikachu's poisoned!" Téa shouted.

"Then that means-" Max started.

Sharing Pikachu's serious condition, Ash could feel the poison within him draining his health.

"Ash, are you alright?" Yami asked in concern.

"I..can't...give...up!" Ash choked out in a whisper.

"Pika!" It was in terrible shape, too ill to fight.

Ash struggled to stay on his feet, his vision was blurring and giving in. The poison slowly drained their health.

"One down, one more to go," Yami Bakura confirmed.

Silence fell upon the Shadow Realm, with the only sound of the beating struggling heart. The voices in the background were distorted.

When Pikachu keeled over from, Ash collapsed on the floor too. "ASH!" Yami bellowed in concern and rushed to boy's side.

Suddenly, Delia, as if waking up from a dream, sensed her son in distress and was slowly coming to her senses. "Ash?"

Yami lifted up the ailing boy in his arms and tried to revive him. "Ash! Ash! Can you hear me? Say something! ASH!"

Ash murmured weakly in unconscious reply. His black eyes are void and fading. With Pikachu barely, standing, both of their souls on the brink of losing. Yami gasped softly.

"He's holding on by a thread!" Yugi's spirit exclaimed. "And so is Pikachu!" He and the Pharaoh glanced at the yellow mouse Pokemon who is laying on the ground, breathing laboriously. "If Pikachu faints, both of them will lose their souls! And if Bakura takes their souls, not only will we lose the fight, but the whole world will be doomed!" He glimpsed at Dark Bakura who cackled in near triumph.

"Well, well, looks like victory is mine!" The white-haired thief declared.

"Come on, Ash!" The pharaoh gritted his teeth. "There must be something we could do!"

"There's nothing you can do!" Yami Bakura stated. "Ash's soul is being served to Cerberus on a silver platter. Unless you're willing to take his place. That will certainly make Cerberus more powerful for the price of two souls! Heh heh heh!"

At that moment, that last sentence inspired the pharaoh. He had thought up an idea. A crazy idea. "Take his place...That's it! Yugi!" He went to his spirit partner inside the Millennium Puzzle for debate. They met between the doors of two soul rooms. "Yugi, we need to talk."

Yugi looked up at his partner. "Do you have something planned, Pharaoh?"

"I do, but it requires a great risk. Ash is going to lose his soul unless one of us jumps in there and pulls him out."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I would have to temporarily leave your body and transfer myself into Ash's body."

"I know what you're thinking, Yami." Yugi read his mind. "If it's the only way to save Ash and Pikachu, I'll do it." He consented. "I can give the Millennium Puzzle to Ash so you can deliver his soul to safety inside the Puzzle."

"But then you'll be alone facing Yami Bakura."

"Not true." Yugi shook his head. "I know you'll still be with me, even in another person's body."

"We've never done this before, Yugi. Do you think Ash will even accept me into his vessel?"

"Ash helped in our duel against Billy and Kidd, now's our turn to help him." Yugi said. "Besides, with you inside him, Ash can learn a lot from you on his journey."

The pharaoh nodded. "Then we have no time to lose. We must act quickly!"

And so, the Millennium Puzzle glowed and Yugi was back in his own body. "Hmm?" Dark Bakura noticed.

"Yugi?" Téa spoke up.

"Hold on, Ash! We're coming!" Yugi removed his chain necklace holding the Millennium Puzzle and placed it around the unconscious boy's neck.

"What's Yugi doing?" Tristan asked in queer. The friends watched with anticipation.

"Come on, Ash! You gotta hang in there! Don't give up!" Yugi encouraged. "Hurry, Pharaoh! He's running out of time!"

In the darkness, Ash's spirit is drifting down in the abyss of despair. "I...I'm sorry' Mom...I failed you..." He murmured quietly. "...Pikachu..."

At the following, he felt warm rays showering down at his face. "Huh?" He opened his eyes and saw the spirit of the Pharaoh floating down his way.

"Pharaoh?"

"I'm here, Ash." Yami came face-to-face with the young Pokémon trainer. "I'm going to save you and put you in my Millennium Puzzle where it's safe."

Ash looked at him in awe. "You will?"

"I'm going to take over your body so I can fight Bakura in your place."

"What? But I..." Ash hesitated.

"There isn't much time. Do you trust me, Ash?" Yami held out his hand.

Ash thought for a minute and consented. "Yes. Let's do this!" He finally took the pharaoh's hand and a bright golden light illuminated between them, washing over the blackness.

Outside, the carved eye of the Millennium Puzzle shone brightly. The Eye of Wjdat appeared on the nearly unconscious boy's forehead. Yugi and co. gasped and watched in anticipation as a miracle has happened. Ash's body glowed warmly yellow and floated up in the air.

"Huh? What's this?" Yami Bakura gawked in surprise.

"Pika?" Pikachu still in bad shape croakily opened its black eye and painfully tilted its head up, trying to see what had happened to its trainer.

The mystic gold aura surrounded Ash and balls of energy shot around in every direction. They illuminated the dark atmosphere, soaring everywhere.

"What the devil is going on?!" Yami Bakura ejected.

The warm glowing ceased away. Ash stood on his feet, back on the battlefield. His black bangs covered his eyes. The Millennium Puzzle dangled from his neck.

"This can't be!" Yami Bakura exclaimed in shock when he saw the boy still standing on his feet. "You should be in the Shadow Realm by now."

"Alright, you did it, Pharaoh!" Yugi said.

"Did what?" Téa asked in confusion.

"Hold on, is it me or does Ash look different?" Tristan pointed.

The remaining friends studied the renewed Ash closely.

The large round innocent look have been sharpened into a serious glare, his iris have changed from brown to grayish blue. His short messy jet black hair grew taller and spikier, liberty spikes so sharp, his hat had to be clipped to the belt. He wore his blue and white short-sleeved jacket like a cape. He also gotten a few inches taller and few years older. The Eye of Wdjat was still visible on his forehead.

Téa gazed at the changed boy's face and gasped. "Could it be? The Pharaoh has taken over Ash's body!" She exclaimed. "He switched places with Ash so he could save his soul! He's now Yami Ash!"

The pharaoh inside Ash's body is now Yami Ash!

It was incredible. This had never happen before. Yami has never have to transfer and possess another body other than Yugi's.

"Thank you, guys. You saved me." Yami Ash replied deeply. His voice is still pretty boyish, but it's low and solemn, just like the pharaoh.

Ash's spirit appeared between Yami Ash and Yugi from the Millennium Puzzle. "Whoa, did I just switch bodies with the pharaoh?"

"I'll take it from here, Ash," Yami from his body said. "As for you, Bakura, I will not allow you to hurt my friends any longer!" He declared.

"You fool! Just because you transported yourself into that brat's body doesn't mean you still won't lose, Pharaoh!" Yami Bakura bluffed, sweat pouring down. "Your Pikachu's still unable to fight!"

"Not anymore!" Yami Ash throw a Full Restore on his ailing Pokémon who instantly recovered and jumped back on its feet.

"Pika!"

"Incredible! Where's a sketchbook when you need one?" Tracey asked.

"Grr! You..." Yami Bakura was furious. "I have worked too hard to get the Ball of the Underworld and I will not be beaten by a child! Nidoking, Horn Drill!"

Nidoking bellowed and thrusted his impaling thorn directly at the lightning mouse Pokémon.

"Pikachu, lookout!" The remaining friends shouted.

"Pikachu, dodge and use Take Down!" Yami Ash shouted.

Pikachu quickly dodge the Horn Drill and clocked Nidoking with his lightning tail on the head. Gary felt a migraine on his head. The large final evolved Nidoran tipped over and crashed loudly onto the floor.

"Pharaoh, NO!" Ash's spirit cried out in alarm.

"Relax, Ash, Pikachu has knocked Nidoking unconscious!" The pharaoh inside the trainer's body assured.

"But Gary-"

"Gary is fine, Ash. Nidoking is only sleeping," the pharaoh inside assured him.

Nidoking snored loudly while Gary smiled lightly and closed his eyes as he passed out.

"And as for you, Bakura, you're going down!" the pharaoh trainer glared at his archenemy with fierce gray eyes. "I'm gonna put stop to your evil plans and you will banished right back into the shadows!"

"Don't bet on it, Pharaoh! I still got one more Pokémon left!" The white-haired spirit snapped. "Go, Poké ball!" He threw the six ball in the field. Out came a red and black fox-like Pokémon with sinister aqua eyes, a long bushy long ponytail, sharp nails, and stood on its hind legs. It was the same mysterious Pokémon that defeated Professor Oak's Muk and May's Combusken and sent them to the Shadow Realm.

"Zoroark!" It growled.

"Zoroark?" Yami Ash got out his Poké Dex and aimed it at the mysterious new Pokémon.

"ZOROARK THE ILLUSION FOX POKÉMON. IT CAN SEND MULTIPLE ILLUSIONS THAN A MAGICIAN. ITS SPECIAL ABILITY IS NIGHT DAZE AND IT CAN SEND HUMANS IN A STATE OF HALLUCINATION WHO TRY TO CAPTURE IT."

"I'd never seen that Pokémon before," Yami Ash said. "Who does it belong to?"

"No one, you fool!" Yami Bakura snapped. "I caught it on the way to Pallet Town..."

_ A flashback occurred when a time he found a family of illusion fox Pokémon. Yami Bakura stood threateningly in front of them with an empty Poké ball in his hand as he intended to capture the mother. "That Zoroark attempted to fight back with their pathetic illusions, but they were useless against my Millennium Ring! I could see right through them."_

_A mother Zoroark hidden her pups inside her spiky red mane to fight against the intruder._

"She was no match for my Millennium Magic so I took control of her," Yami Bakura explained. "I've got her babies right here!" He pointed to a trio of scared Zorua pups behind him. "If she decides to disobeys me, her pups will suffer the consequences."

Yami Ash was enraged by the evil spirit's cruelty. "You soulless snake! You call yourself a Pokémon trainer?" The pharaoh trainer's horizontal pupils narrowed, making his gray eyes more fiercer. "Call me old-fashioned, but Pokémon are to be caught by trust and honor, not by threat or force. Pokémon are not just fighting tools! They're living creatures who want to be your friends, and you, Bakura are not."

"Silence, fool!" Yami Bakura growled, losing patience. "I make the rules in the Shadow Realm and I command Zoroark to obey me!" His temporarily "captured" reluctantly stood in the ring, ready to face her opponent.

_That thing does look strong._ Ash thought. _Pikachu has just been revived and I can't risk putting him and mine in danger anymore._ "Pikachu, return!" He called out deeply.

"Pika?"

"You did enough, Pikachu. Now it's up to _my_ Pokémon." Pikachu retreated from the field so its trainer can finish the enemy.

"It's you and me now, Bakura! Let's go!" The doughty Yami trainer announced, taking out his own Poké ball. "Time to finish what we already started!"

"Be careful, Pharaoh!" Max called.

"Get him, Ash!" Téa cheered.

Yami Ash threw his Poké ball. "Go, Hitmonlee!"

His borrowed Pokémon, Hitmonlee the kicking Pokémon appeared jumped into the field, facing the dark fox Pokémon.

"So, you decided to let your kicky Pokémon out after all," Yami Bakura said. "This should be fun."

"GO!" Their trainers shouted at the same time.

The battle between two spirits was on! Yami Ash versus Yami Bakura! Hitmonlee and Zoaroark dueled fiercely to the death. Their legs and paws clashed against another. Their strength and endurance are equally matched and neither one of them are willing to go down without a fight. It was struggle between good and evil.

"Give it up, Pharaoh! Your pathetic Hitmonlee don't stand a chance against my Zoroark! " Yami Bakura said. "Its physical attacks are useless against Zoroark's illusion!"

Each time Hitmonlee swung his leg, Zoroark disappeared from side to side in dark mist before he took a hit.

"No, you won't!" Yami Ash rebutted. "Hitmonlee, use Focus Energy!"

"Hitmon-lee!" Hitmonlee took a moment to regather some more energy in him to boost his attack strength.

"Zoroark, use Imprison!" Yami Bakura abruptly ordered his Pokémon.

Zoroark obeyed and casted an immobilizing spell on the kicking Pokémon, preventing him from moving on his next turn.

"Hitmonlee!" Yami Ash cried, body also paralyzed from Zoroark's effect.

"Pharaoh's in trouble!" Yugi cried.

"Now Zoroark, use Night Daze!" Yami Bakura commanded.

The Illusion Fox Pokémon unleashed a red aura energy blast from her body, hitting Hitmonlee in the electrical wave. Yami Ash roared in agony, feeling the pain from his Pokémon.

"Oh no, Pharaoh!" Téa cried.

Hitmonlee flew across the ground but quickly recovered, skidding on his feet. Yami Ash groaned and held his throbbing side in pain. "Is that all you got?" He hissed.

"Hitmon!"

"That was just the beginning!" Yami Bakura stated. "Zoroark, use Fury Swipes!"

Zoroark launched and swooped her red claws down at the kicking Pokémon.

"Hitmonlee, Guard!" Yami Ash quickly commanded.

Hitmonlee briskly blocked the phantom fox Pokémon's attack.

"Now use Double Kick!"

Hitmonlee repeatedly tumble-kicked Zoroark back. Yami Bakura hollered in pain as he felt his Pokémon's pain.

"Get him, pharaoh!" Yugi shouted. The friends rooted wildly for their hero to win.

Yami Bakura snarled and wiped his mouth. "You little-"

"Zoaroark is flinched. You can't win!" Yami Ash said.

"Don't bet on it!" Yami Bakura rebutted. "Zoroark use Hyper Beam now!"

Zoroark gathered up energy from her mouth and fired at Hitmonlee, devastating it.

Yami Ash screamed in agony as Hitmonlee has lost half of his health. The pharaoh groaned and collapsed to his knees. Hitmonlee hit the floor, critically damaged.

"Foolish Pharaoh! How the mighty have fallen!" Yami Bakura taunted. "This is what happens to when you intervened!"

Yami Ash groaned and opened his gray eyes. "I'm...I'm far from beaten, Bakura!" He announced, wiping his mouth.

"Hit...Mon..." The ravaged Pokémon gruntedly rise up on his legs.

"No matter what happens, I will win this fight!" Yami Ash vowed persistently.

"Hitmonlee is in bad shape!" Tristan said.

"Yugi, let me takeover!" Ash's soul piped up. "You've done enough!"

"No, stay where you are!" The pharaoh insisted. "It's too dangerous!"

"Fool! You'll never defeat me!" Yami Bakura stated. "It's because you're not a trainer, Pharaoh! And you'll never will be!"

"True, I may not be a Pokémon trainer and I know I was the pharaoh who knew only about Duel Monsters. But I do know this; Pokémon do not care where you come from. They will always be there for you when you need them. Pokémon will stand by you no matter how perilous things get."

"5,000 years ago, the traveler and I fought against Team Rocket and put them in their places. If it weren't for him, I would never have learned about Pokémon and I wouldn't even be here if he hadn't save me." He chronicled, ascribing Ash's ancestor.

"We will never let you succeed, Bakura!" Yugi stepped in. "We will defeat you together!"

"All together!" Ash's spirit added.

"Pika!"

"Hitmonlee!"

"Such an gallant team," Yami Bakura remarked catatonically. "Even you could defeat me, your friends will be long gone. They will sacrificed to great demon of the Shadow Realm!" He laughed as above the battlefield, six pairs of menacing eyes appeared in the black canopy of the Shadow Realm.

The friends looked up, feeling afraid. They despaired that Bakura may be right after all...

"Don't give in!"

"Huh?" The heroes snapped out of it when they heard a voice called to them.

"What?" Yami Bakura squawked.

In a unexpected turn of events, the souls of Delia and Mimey somehow escaped from their prison and confronted the enemy.

Everyone gaped, unable to believe what they are seeing. "What in Hank's name?" Joey uttered.

The rest of the souls Bakura captured mobbed around the enemy, grasping hold of him to prevent him from making any moves.

"Get off me, you fools!" Yami Bakura growled and tried to shake the clinging souls off his arm. "GET OFF!"

"You are a very bad boy, Bakura!" Delia said. "Don't you dare hurt my son again!"

"Mime, Mime, Mime!"

"Mother?" Yami Ash uttered.

"Now's your chance, honey!" Delia's spirit shouted.

"Mime, Mime!"

"But how?" Yami Ash uttered.

"What's going on?" Max asked.

"The souls captured by Bakura must have heard Ash's voices and they all have decided to come help." Téa guessed ecstatically.

"But who help them?" Yugi asked.

"I'm right here too!" A kind British voice answered his question,

"Huh?" The trio looked to see what now.

Behind the astonished thief spirit, another white-haired boy with a sweet innocent face grabbed his dark half and placed a headlock on him to immobilize him further.

"That's the real Bakura!" Yami, Ash, and Yugi stated together.

"Yes, it's me! And don't worry, I got your friends' souls!" Ryo Bakura assured. "While that wicked spirit was distracted, I probed through the Shadow Realm and rescued your friends before they got swallowed up by the darkness."

"What?! How dare you inferred with my plans, you ungrateful twerp!" His dark half snarled.

"They should be back in their own bodies once you won the game!" The good Bakura assured.

Yami Ash looked dubious.

"DO IT NOW, PHARAOH!" Ash and Yugi shouted urgently.

"HITMONLEE, USE CYCLONE KICK!" Yami Ash bellowed.

"HIT-MON-LEE!" The determined kicking Pokémon zoomed at lightning speed and twirled rapidly, pummeling Zoroark in the stomach, sending multiple pains back to its owner.

Wiped out, the Illusionist Fox Pokémon collapsed to the ground and dissolved in swart mist.

"Zoroark is unable to battle! Hitmonlee is the winner!" Yugi declared. "Which means we win! It's over!"

"NNNOOOOOO!" Yami Bakura screamed in horror as he and disappeared into the darkness. "_**This isn't over, Pharaoh!**_" The last of the evil spirit's voice echoed through the fading dark atmosphere. "_**I will be back!**_"

The Shadow Game was over and the dark atmosphere lifted. Everything should be returning to normal soon.


	24. Past, Present, and Pokémon

**Sorry for the wait folks.**

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**PEACE**

Everyone woke up and looked around. They found themselves sitting in the furniture of Professor Oak's living room. "Have...have we been here the whole time?" Brock asked, rubbing his head.

"I had the most weirdest dream!" May said. "We were trapped in a scary creepy place called the Shadow Realm."

"Believe me it wasn't dream, May," her brother said.

"Shadow Games can really make your head spin." Joey said. "And leave you with goosebumps you'll never shake off."

"So that was the Shadow Games," Brock said.

"Or to say the Pokémon Shadow battle," Tristan amended.

"I'm going to have nightmares about it for a week." Tracey said.

Delia and Mimey also in the room, woke up and entered the room. She yawned and said "what a weird nap I went through."

"Mime Mime Mime."

Gary, right next to them, groaned and woke up next to his grandfather. "Unhh...How did I get here?"

Professor Oak groaned and found his grandson slouching next to him. "Gary, when did you decide to visit?" He asked.

"I'm...I'm not sure." Gary answered. "The last thing I remember; I was sitting in my research room, studying about the history of Pokémon and Duel Monsters."

In the flashback, Gary Oak in his study room with his eyes glued to the computer screen. He was studying the ancient scripture written in Egyptian. It was evidently displaying a warning of Cerberus' release in the future, but Gary couldn't figure it out.

"I was in deep concentration that I didn't realized that an intruder broke into my room." Gary recalled.

A shadowy figure stalked behind the unsuspecting young researcher and attacked him.

"I turned around and everything went black. And the next thing I knew, I was sitting here in the room with you guys," Gary concluded. "It must have been a nightmare or something."

"Well, thank goodness that's over," Professor Oak said.

"Hopefully." Tracey added.

"Where are Ash and Yugi?" Téa asked.

"And Bakura?" May added.

"And the rest of the Pokémon?" Added Max.

"Over here." A deep boy's voice responded.

There they saw Yugi holding on to Ryou Bakura who was back to his own body and mind. Besides them stood Yami Ash and a pack of Pokémon free from the curse.

"There's Ash." Téa said.

"And Yugi." May said.

"What happened? Is Bakura okay? Is he good or evil? Did everybody make it? And what about the Pokémon?"

Max hammered with questions.

"Bakura is fine now, Max. The evil spirit has left his body so the good Bakura is back to his normal self. For now. All the Pokémon in the laboratory are back to normal now, thanks to my Millennium Puzzle," Yami Ash answered all of Max's questions. "After I won the Shadow Game, all the souls captured by Bakura have returned to their bodies. Hopefully everything will be alright."

"Pika, Pika!"

The mother Zoroark was reunited with her three babies.

The dueling friends praised with admiration while the others who were sent to the Shadow Realm pondered with confusion.

"How come Ash sounds so different?" Brock asked. "And what's that glowing thing on his forehead?"

"Good ol' Pharaoh. He always saves the day." Joey said.

"And good ol' Ash," Tristan said..

"Pharaoh Ash?" Gary, Professor Oak, Brock, and May said.

"You mean, the Pharaoh is in-" May started to speak.

"Uh-huh!" Max answered for her.

"Ash's voice has gotten deeper! They grow up so fast." Delia said, unaware that the spirit of the pharaoh is possessing his son's body.

"Mime, Mime, Mime." It shook its head.

Yami Ash smiled and held on to the Millennium Puzzle to switch his mind.

Inside the Millennium Puzzle, the Pharaoh, Ash, Pikachu stood together in the middle of hundreds of corridors.

"So this is what the inside of the puzzle looks like," Ash said. "Kind of like a maze."

"Pikachu."

"Everybody's minds are different," Yami said. "Yours is filled with dreams, Pokéballs, and friendship."

"Pika?"

"See for yourself." The pharaoh pointed to a room on the left.

Ash peered into the opened door. "Awesome, you're right! I do got a room full of dreams." He said. He saw a Pokémon poster that represented the dream of becoming a Pokémon trainers. There were also boxes of empty Poké balls waiting to contain more friends in the future.

"Pika."

"I guess you got to go back Yugi now, huh?" Ash turned back to his Yami Ally.

"Yes, the kid still needs me," Yami said. "Otherwise I can't unlock my memories without him."

Ash nodded in agreement. ''It was cool while it lasted." The two shook hands and another flash of light occurred.

After the Eye of Wdjat shone, Ash Ketchum had return to his body. "Hi guys." He greeted his young normal voice.

The friends were amazed. "Wow."

"Here's your Millennium Puzzle back, Yugi," Ash removed the chain from his neck and handed his friend his treasure. "And thanks for helping and saving me."

"Hey, don't mention it." Yugi said, taking his Millennium Puzzle back.

"I wanna turn into Yami!" May said zealously. "Can I have a turn wearing the Millennium Puzzle? Pretty please?"

Yugi chuckled. "Sorry, May, but the Millennium Puzzle's not a toy!" He refused.

"You have to have a strong mind and free will to handle the Pharaoh's power," Ash added. "Me? I just got lucky."

"Uh, Ash? You were about to be sent to the Shadow Realm," Tracey reminded. "The pharaoh had to go in there and save you before your soul got swallowed up by the shadows."

"Oh yeah. Heh heh heh." Ash chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head.

"Let's do a victory song! For our pals!" Tristan said smiling.

"Yeah!" Joey and Max grinned.

"NO! No more!" May and Téa shouted together and pulled the boys' ears.

* * *

Things have finally settled down in Professor Oak's laboratory. May Bakura sat on a lounge chair, feeling a bit dizzy. Tracey gave him a bag of ice for his white throbbing head. "How do you feel, Bakura?" Tèa asked.

"I'm fine, I guess," the normal white haired boy answered in a British accent, holding the ice bag on his head. "That evil spirit really took a toll on my mind." He groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"I should have known that it was that demon again. The next time that evil spirit decides to show his ugly mug again, I'll make him wish it never left Ancient Egypt in da first place!" Joey said.

"Poor Pokémon," Max said, looking at the freed Pokémon. He then turned his head back. "Poor Bakura."

"I'm dreadfully sorry, guys!" The British teen apologized guiltily. "I hope I didn't cause a big mess of things."

"Don't feel bad, Bakura. It isn't your fault," May said in a forgiving tone.

"We all know it was that evil spirit that was controlling you and making you do bad stuff," Tristan added.

"Dat evil spirit is a mean one." Joey added.

"For one thing, it's a good thing that Yugi's spirit is on our side," Brock said.

"Yeah, we would have been fondue if the pharaoh hadn't switched bodies with Ash," Joey said.

"You have to admit that was pretty cool when Yami Ash took over and won the Shadow Game."

Yugi picked up the Millennium Ring. "I don't think I should worry about that evil spirit for now." He frowned as he studied it closely. "I don't know how this found its way back to Bakura. I thought I had it zipped in my bag along with the other Millennium Items after I defeated Marik in the Battle City Finals."

"You better keep it out of people's grasp or else more people will get hurt," Bakura advised. He was then acquitted up by a trio of Zoroa pups who jumped on his lap, looking at him with curiosity and fondness.

May gave Yugi a big tight squeezing hug. "I'm so happy to have you on our side!" She squealed. "You're my hero!"

Yugi grunted.

"Okay, you two, break it up!" Tèa stepped in. "Give him some air."

Ash was reunited with his mom. "Oh Mom. I am so happy to have you back." He hugged his mother tightly.

"Um...thank you, I think." Delia looked at her son in confusion. She then studied the boy's black locks. "You have been shampooing your hair, right Ash?"

Ash chuckled.

"Pika, Pika."

"Ash's mom sure is pretty," Joey said. "And nice too."

Delia turned around and saw the dueling friends from the opposite side of the world. "Oh hello." She addressed friendlily. "You must be the new friends."

"Yes, my name is Yugi Muto." The decent tricolored young man said.

"We already knew." Professor Oak said.

"You probably already heard of me, but my name's Joey Wheeler." The Brooklyn blond introduced himself.

"I heard about you, Joey." Tracey said. "You were the runner-up in Battle City and Duelist Kingdom, right?"

"Dat's right."

"You then lost to Seto Kaiba." Tracey added that.

Joey groaned in dismay. "Why does everyone have to bring dat up?"

Tristan pushed his friend aside and bowed down to Mrs. Ketchum politely. "Tristan Taylor here, at your service!" He took her hand like a gentlemen and kissed it.

"What a proper young gentlemen." Delia beamed.

Joey shoved his friend back. "So, your son tells me that you're an awesome cook," he started. "Is that right?"

"Yes, I am. Would like me to fix you a snack?" Delia offered sweetly. "Any friend of Ash is a friend of mine."

Joey smiled broadly. "Sweet! I'll take a grilled cheeseburger with olives and fries. And make it a supersized."

Tristan pushed back. "What are you doing? That's not how you request!" He grinned to Delia. "Please forgive my inelegant friend. He doesn't know how to talk to a pretty nice lady like you."

"Look who's talking about being inelegant!" The blond duelist retorted. "Big-haired kissed up!"

Joey and Tristan began to quarrel and hassled in front of Mrs. Ketchum.

"I'm Téa Gardener." The pretty level-headed brunette said.

"So you four are duelists from the other side of the world." That's something that don't happen often."

"Can I ask about something?" Téa bought up. "What was Bakura doing in your laboratory, Professor Oak?"

"He wanted information about the Ball of the Underworld," Bakura answered. "He had hoped since Professor Oak was studying about the history of Pokémon and Duel Monsters in ancient Egypt, he may know about the secrets to the unlocking Cerberus' power."

"Well, I was doing research about the traveler and the pharaoh when I was interrupted by those things," Professor Oak recalled. "Bakura, the evil one claimed that he stole it from the Dynamo City museum so that the beloved pet of the Dark One could roam free and seek revenge on the world who sealed him in, whatever that meant."

"So that's where that Ball of the Underworld went." Said Max.

"Speaking of which, whatever happened to the Ball of the Underworld?" Tristan asked.

Bakura checked his pockets, only to find them both empty. "Oh dear, it's gone out from my pocket!" He said fearfully. "The evil spirit must have still have it."

The gang looked worried and afraid.

"Don't worry, Bakura. I have it right here." Yami Yugi said and held the Ball of the Underworld in his palm. "After I won the Shadow Game, I retrieved before the evil spirit got away."

"Be careful, Yugi. That ball contains Cerberus' evil soul." Téa warned.

"If you touch it, then you'll be possessed," Max added.

"I'm familiar with Shadow Magic. I'm practically part of it." The pharaoh said. "Cerberus' power can't affect me." He scrutinized the Ball of the Underworld for a while. The party looked with anticipation and anxiety. His eyes shifted to the ivory button on the center of the ball. He could feel a quantity of evil contained inside the Ball of the Underworld. He gasped as he gained a vision from the magic.

_About five eons ago right under the reign of the first pharaoh before Yami was crowned, Pokémon and Duel Monsters lived together in harmony right before the mayhem started. They used to battle each other for fun and power. Whenever their Pokémon takes damage, the trainers will feel the pain and be sent to the Shadow Realm. The lust of battle and abuse of power attracted the even more power-hungry army of Pokémon poachers all the way from Rome led by the ruthless General Brutus._

_On that day, the Prince Yami challenged the Pokémon traveler to round of Pokémon match. His Pikachu clashed against the future pharaoh's Tyranitar. It counterattacked it with Iron Tail before the armored Pokémon could stomp it down. Although they have different passions, their skills and training abilities are equally matched._

_But their battle was soon interrupted when their archenemies, Team Rocket and the thief bandit Bakura forayed Egypt land. They had the same desire; power and Pokémon._

_The traveler and pharaoh were about to oppose them when they witnessed something else more horrifying. At the same time, a monumental shadow of a three-headed beast appeared in the black sky. It grabbed the two villains and swallowed them whole, growing more powerful. It then set its three pairs of eyes on the stupefied duo before coming after them._

_The pharaoh and the traveler had no choice but to riskntheir lives and fight the unspeakably evil monster of the Shadow Realm, despite having three legendary Pokémon and three Egytian God Cards._

The vision ended and Yami was back to reality.

"What did you see, Pharaoh?" Asked Téa.

"This wasn't the first time I participated in a Pokémon Shadow Battle." Yami Yugi reported. "A long long long time ago, before I was even crowned Pharaoh of Egypt, I knew about about battling and I knew how to train Pokémon."

The folks listened with interest.

"When I was first crowned Pharaoh," Yami Yugi started. "Pokémon travelers used to come to Egypt for goods and imported rare Pokémon to the royals as pets. My first official battle was with that Pokémon traveler. Trainers and duelists used to battle each other with monsters under the rules of the Shadow Games. Team Rocket invaded Egypt, with the alliance of Bakura to steal every rare Pokémon they could find. The traveler, who I think his name was Cypress and I fought them, but then Cerberus rose up from the Shadow Realm and wrecked havoc on my old kingdom. In the final battle, Ra, Obelisk, Slifer, Silicone, Entei, and Raikou sealed that monster away into the Ball of the Underworld. In the end, Mew came to our rescue and pulled us out of the Shadow Realm. Afterwards, everything went pink."

"Sadly, the rest of my memories of my past are still blank. That's all I knew." Yami concluded.. "I'm sorry that I'm not much help."

The group weren't surprised. After all, the pharaoh's past is still a blur to him, even with all the evidence standing around him.

"Don't feel bad about it, Yugi." Professor Oak said. "There's still a lot of mysteries yet to be solved."

"But I do know this; Cerberus was the reason two worlds of Pokémon and Duel Monsters were split upon." Yami added. "That was why trainers and duelists were living in different sides of the world."

"Don't mean to interrupt, but Cerberus is just a myth." Gary piped up. "Duel Monsters, I can understand, but I don't believe." Gary said. "If you ask me, you guys are being irrational."

"You're wrong, Gary. The Shadow Games are real." Yugi said. "Deny what you want, but Cerberus did try to destroy our world 5,000 years ago. Bakura taken possession of the Pokémon may be just the beginning."

"With all due respect, Yugi, what happened back there was nothing more than an illusion. There are no such things as the Shadow Games." Gary shook his head.

The gang gawked with surprise, unable to believe that their former rival and ally is not taking the Shadow Games so seriously.

"But what about the pharaoh taking over Ash's body?" Max put in. "You saw it too. Can you explain how his voice changed, and the glowing eye symbol on his forehead? It's like he's turned into a different person! He was much cooler than the old Ash, and smarter too."

"Hey!" Ash ejaculated.

Gary puffed his cheeks in acknowledge. "I don't know what's going on, but I still was a mind trick." He denied. "Nothing but hocus-pocus nonsense!"

The gang blinked when they heard a line so familiar. "That's something that Kaiba would say." Téa said.

"Huh?" Gary looked up in question.

"Now that you mentioned it, Gary does look like a miniature version of Kaiba!" Tristan said.

"Kaiba? Who's he?" Professor Oak asked.

"Just someone who wouldn't believe in magic if it zapped them in the head," Tristan said.

"Until we can figure out what to do with it, we need to put this Ball of the Underworld where it cannot cause great harm to anyone," Yami said.

"How about we put it this safe?" Tracey suggested, lifting a heavy titanium container. "It resilient to almost anything, including hail and storms."

"Close enough." Yami Yugi voluntarily placed the Ball of the Underworld and closed the combination door tight.

"Is there a confined place we can put it?" Joey asked

"We got a broom closet upstairs," Tracey said.

The party gently dumped the encased cursed artifact in a broom closet upstairs and closed the door. In the darkness, the Ball of the Underworld shook slightly and glowed eerily purple.

* * *

"Well, now that the evil is over, shall we take a look at the history of the pharaoh and Pokémon and Duel Monsters living together you were studying?" Max asked.

"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "That's why Yugi and his friends came here from the dueling world."

"We're trying help the pharaoh figure out his past. We hoped coming here and learning about Pokémon may give him some hints." Yugi explained.

"Of course you are." Professor Oak said. "Though I'm afraid the computer system is rebooting after the Shadow Hounds invaded and took over the power network. It may take a while."

To kill time, the trainers decided to give their friends a tour around the Poké lab. "Hey, Yugi. Now that you, Téa, Tristan, and Joey are here, let's us take you on a tour of the laboratory," Tracey offered.

"Alright, that'd be cool." Yugi smiled.

"Sweet!" Joey and Max grinned.

On the table, there were three young Pokémon.

"Hey, check it out." Yugi obsereved. "There's Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur."

"Very good, Yugi." Professor Oak

"They're starter Pokémon for young trainers who go off on their first journey." Tracey said.

"You know, I was once thought about traveling on a Pokémon quest too," Yugi said. "Bulbasaur was my favorite."

"Really? Cool!" Ash said.

"Bulba-Saur!"

"Aw! They're so adorable!" Tèa said, smiling at a Squirtle.

"Squirtle, Squirtle," the blue reptile Pokémon chirped.

"I caught my Squirtle here right here in the lab," May recalled. "Actually, more like it caught up to me."

Joey eyed on Charmander. "So uh, what's up, little guy?"

"Charmander, Char," The little flame lizard cooed as its large black and blue eyes googled at him, capturing the teen's heart. It reminded him of Baby Dragon.

"Hey look, Charmander's taking a shine on Joey!" Max observed.

"I think it found a new friend." Tracey said.

"Char, Charmander."

"Aww! You are kinda cute, Charmander!" Joey smiled. He bended down and gazed at the little fire lizard Pokémon up close. He bended down at its height and glanced at it eye to eye. "Do you wanna be my friend?" He asked in a baby voice.

"Char, Char!" The lizard Pokémon squeaked approvingly and laughed in a adorable way.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'!" Joey smiled. He scratched the little lizard's small chin with his finger. "Heh heh heh! Coochie coochie coo!"

"Char-Char!" Suddenly, it expectorated a breath of fire all over the blond guy! Joey yelled as he got burned literally. Popped eyes appeared over the blazes. Ash, Yugi, and co. Gawked. After Charmander closed its mouth, poor Joey was dyed head to toe in barbecued brown. He blinked his popped eyes and coughed out a puff of smoke. Everybody laughed very loudly.

"I believe that was Charmander's first Ember attack," Professor Oak smiled and pointed it out. "Small but powerful. Heh heh heh!"

"That's how Charmander shows his affection! Believe me, I know!" Ash chuckled, remembering his times with his own Charmelean to Charizard.

"He certainly has the hots for you!" Tèa smiled.

"I always knew Joey was a hothead! Ha ha ha!" Tristan said.

"Ha ha! Very funny!" Joey retorted.

* * *

Next, the party toured inside a room full of Poké balls, stored for the trainers on their journey. Brock whistled. "Sure are a lot of them."

"This is the Poké ball storage," Tracey said. "It's where we keep Pokémon caught by trainers during their journey."

Joey examined the Poké Balls up close. "So these are the gadgets that you use to conveniently carry Pokémon with you." He said. "Nice." His upper face reflected on the red surface.

"They look like pool table balls." Commented Tristan, also examining the red and white orbs.

"How do you tell which Pokémon are inside?" Bakura asked a question.

In another room of the research lab, Ash was showing Téa the Poké library. Max tagged along and looked at the books. "This is what we called the Pokémon library, Téa." The ten-year-old trainer detailed. "It's where Professor Oak keep his records and studies he wrote from his research on different species of Pokémon."

"Just exactly how many species are there?" Téa asked.

"Nobody really knows for sure," Ash answered. "But that's the fun part. My goal is to catch each and every type of Pokémon I see. So far I have collected over 50 Pokémon, not that I like to brag."

"Pikachu."

"That's a challenging goal." Téa said. "Sounds like like you still have a long way to go."

"I'm getting better. I'm one step closer to my goal."

"Yeah, that's what you always say, Ash." Max commented. "You should see some of Professor Oak's poetry, Téa."

"Professor Oak writes poetry?" Téa asked with surprise.

"Pika, Pika."

"Let us show you his best work," Max said.

"And I'll show you how many Pokémon I caught," Ash said.

The boys scattered in different sections of the library.

Téa smiled and chuckled and placed her hands on her hips in amusement. Little was she aware, there was a shadow lurking behind the shelves, stalking her.

"You don't keep these animals cramped up inside these balls all the time, do you Professor Oak?" Yugi asked, concern about the treatment of animals.

"Of course not, Yugi. Everyday, I take them out of their Poké balls and leave them out in the Oak Corral until nightfall so they'll get fresh air." Professor Oak replied. "We make sure that the Pokémon get plenty of exercise and they are happy in their new environment."

"That's good," Yugi said.

Joey picked up a Poké Ball in his hand and stared at it with curiosity. "So how do you fit all these Pokémon inside these tiny babies?" He asked. "Do you, like shrink em' or something?"

"Uh..." The trainers started to answer his question.

"More importantly, how do you get them open?" Joey asked while trying to pry open these tight Poke'balls. "Do you press this button?" His thumb lowered to the white button amid of the black diameter of the red and white ball.

"No Joey!" Tracey shouted warningly. "That ball contains-"

But Joey already pressed that button. A huge ball of white light popped out like confetti, revealing a large sleeping Pokémon called Snorlax. With its large weight taking up room, its large belly knocked over the Poké balls off the shelves and spilled all over the floor. The people slipped on them and fell flat on the floor.

"...Snorlax!" Tracey painfully finished.

"Whoops! Sorry, my bad, P-Oak!" Joey grinned sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, Joey," Professor Oak said understandably. "Happens all the time."

The group laughed sheepishly as they laid on the floor with the spilled Poké balls.

Suddenly, they heard a loud female scream echoing from the hallways. "What was that?" Tracey asked.

"Sounded like a scream," Brock replied.

"Sounded like Téa." Yugi said.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

"It came from the library," Professor Oak said.

"I wonder what now?" Joey asked.

"Let's go!" Yugi said.

Th group left the storage lab and hurried through the hallways, following to the source of that scream. They entered the library found Téa in midsection of the bookshelves, looking absolutely terrified.

"Téa, what's wrong? We heard you scream!" Yugi said in concern.

"NO! Stop! Get away from me!" Téa cried as she stumbled backwards against the wall.

The gang turned their heads to see who or what is troubling her.

"Muuuk!" Téa's attacker turned out be Ash's Muk, the sludge Pokémon. It grinned lovingly in admiration and tried to give the revolted brunette a hug.

With a blue streak of repulse on her face, Téa whimpered and screamed as it toppled over her and pinned her to the floor.

"Téa!" Yugi cried.

"Ew!" The other kids uttered in disgust.

"HELP ME! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Téa shrieked as her whole body was covered in purple sludge.

"Muk! Muk! Muk!" It was simply enjoying this. It always loved giving people "smudgy" hugs.

"Calm down, Téa! Muk just wants to be your friend," Ash said.

"He's usually pretty harmless as long as you can stand its smell." Max added as he fanned the invisible odor.

Téa continued screaming as Muk kept on mucking her.

"Muk, how many times do I have to tell you not to muck up on guests?" Professor Oak scolded, hands on his hips. "Especially on a lady. Down, boy, down!"

Muk obeyed and slithered off the freaked out girl who shuddered with repulsion on the floor.

"My apologies, Téa. Muk is quite social with people." Professor Oak said.

"I guess Muk likes pretty girls too." Brock smiled.

Everyone laughed while Tracey and Joey helped Téa up her feet who breathed out in exasperation. "Keep that thing on a leash!"

"For a sludge Pokémon, Muk sure is lovable, huh?" Bakura said.

"I guess you can't keep a good Pokémon down," Tristan said.

At that moment, Muk started to race toward Ash, Yugi, Bakura, and Tristan, intending to hug them. "Muk! Muk! Muk!"

The boys expressed in trepidation. "Uh-oh!" Yugi uttered.

"No! No! No! No!" Ash waved his halting hands, trying to keep away from his charging Pokémon.

"MUUUUUUUK!" Muk pounced on the four people, pinning them down on the floor. Ash, Yugi, Bakura, and Tristan yelped as they are now getting smothering kisses from the sludge Pokémon.

"Take it easy, Muk!" Ash shouted in protest. "We're all happy to see you too!"

Yugi exclaimed as his body was blanketed in purple sludge. Bakura laughed while Tristan shuddered in disgust.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Rocket's hot air balloon shaped like Meowth hovered over the trees. "What a great idea using the balloon, James." Jessie said. "Why didn't we think of this sooner?"

"We should be able find the twerps in no time!" Said James.

"Mime, Mime, Mime!" His little fairy Pokémon stood on his shoulder, chirping sweetly.

On the other side, Rex was leaning over the basket edge, throwing up. "Unnnn...I guess I shoulda mentioned that I get airsick easily." He moaned. He then turned his head back over to puke some more.

"Suck it in, Rex!" Meowth said. "As soon as we find those twerps, it's Poké-sweeping time!"

"I can almost see the Pokémon laboratory!" Weevil declaimed. "By my calculations, I'd say our lunkheaded friends have probably already arrived there, talking to that old geezer Professor Oak."

"With those fools distracted, we'll swipe up each and every last Pokémon we can grab," Jessie schemed.

"And their Egyptian God cards," Rex added.

"And this time we're not gonna blow it!" Meowth added.

"Yeah!" The group agreed.

POP! "Wobbuffet!"

* * *

It was lunchtime at the research lab. "Chow time!" Tracey announced as he bought in a cart load of bowls filled with Pokémon food.

"Alright! Finally, we're starving!" Joey grinned as he and Tristan rushed to the cart. Unaware that they're made for Pokémon, the boys took a couple of brown bits and plopped them into their mouths. The group stared at them with disgust. They could not believe that their friends are eating Poké food!

"Hey, this stuff isn't half-bad, Tracey." Joey muffled.

"What's it called?" Tristan asked.

Tracey made a averse face. "Ummm...That would be food for Pokémon."

With tasteless nonhuman food filled inside their cheeks, Joey and Tristan blinked and looked at each other. "Oh..." They uttered. They promptly spat out the brown mash from their mouths, bleghing in disgust and tried to scrub their tongues.

"Ugh! Gross! That's nasty!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Why didn't ya say something before we ate it?!" Joey ejaculated.

Bakura took a few bites of the Poké food. Everyone stared at him like he's a lunatic. "Actually, they're quite good," he said. "But they need more spice." He walked away nonchalantly.

The friends gawked at each other in weirdness. Sometimes their white-haired friend can be so eccentric. (Of course he's eccentric most of the time.)

"Ummm...Let's go outside, shall we?" Professor Oak suggested.

The party exited the backdoors and stepped out to the Oak Corral populated by various types of Pokémon. The dueling friends beamed with awe at that sight. It was their first time seeing the amazing and magical creatures up close. After playing with Duel Monsters for so long, they finally got to experience the wonderful world of Pokémon.

"Look at all the Pokémon!" Yugi awed.

"There must be hundreds of them!" Tèa said.

"There's more to see around here," Ash said. "Most of them are mine." He added proudly.

The gang scattered and explored different regions in order to get to know almost all the Pokémon, types and species.

"Free! Freeeee!" A bunch of Butterfree fluttered around in the field of flowers. One fluttered over Téa's head who laughed and petted it with her finger. May giggled as she was greeted by Ledyba.

In the rocky areas, Joey and Brock saw Exeggutor marched by. They looked down and noticed a couple of Exeggcute were rolling by their feet. They moved out of the way so they could pass. They were then encountered by rock and ground Pokémon such as Arom and Lairon. They also saw a family Diglett and Dugtrio popping out of the soft ground beside them.

Max and Tristan watched a herd of Taurus stampeded through the plains from behind the fence. There were also Kangaskans with their young.

A flock of Pidgeys flew above. At the lake, Tracey and Bakura took turns feeding the water Pokémon. Bakura lobbed a edible ball high into lake and a white seal Pokémon caught it in its clapping flippers.

"Seel, Seel!"

In the vegetation May and Téa noticed a bed of dancing Sunflora and a trio of Bellossom doing a "hula dance" on a rock.

Ash and Yugi met some Pokémon which were old friends of Ash. Heracross, Noctowl, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Bulbasaur, Snorlax who had an armful of fruits and of course, Bayleaf who picked up its trainer by its vines and snuggled them tightly. Yugi laughed and laid on the ground as he played with the others.

Bakura and Tracey walked around some more, saw a pond of Wooper. "Hey, Whoopers! You ready for lunch?" The Pokémon watcher announced.

The little water fish Pokémon looked up, chirped happily, and hopped out of the pool.

Bakura chuckled as he was greeted by the little ones. "Hello there, Whoopers." He grinned and held one of them.

Just then, a Swablu, a cotton bird Pokémon flew over and landed on his white top. "Oh. And hello to you too."

An Ampharos appeared in front of him. "Hello to you."

"Ampharos."

Bakura was soon surrounded by Poké friends.

"Yes, hello to you too." He said to a Furret scurried onto his shoulder.

A Swablu nestled upon his white bushy hair. A Rattata clung on his arm, Nidorans of both genders sat by his side.

"Hello, hello, hello to all of you."

The other friends caught up and reunited.

"Somebody's making friends!" Max said.

"Those Pokemon are starting to like Bakura," May pointed out. "Even though he forced them under his control by his Millennium Ring,

"They must have sensed that the evil spirit within him is gone. They knew that our Bakura is truly good on the inside." Téa guessed.

"So how's everything going?" Ash asked.

"Aren't these Pokémon cool?" Yugi asked.

"They are so cute." Bakura said as he held a Skiploom.

"Yeah, yeah, they're all cute. But where are the cooler ones?" Joey asked. "You know, the ones that pack a punch?" He tripped over obejects that are round, red and white, and has trapezoid eyes.

"Voltorb! Voltorb!"

"Dose are weird-looking Poké balls." Joey eyed weirdly.

The friends expressed in trepidation. "Joey, those aren't Poké balls." Ash said warningly.

"Huh?" Joey cocked his eyebrow with confusion.

"Voltorb! Voltorb!" Electrical sparks surged around the living ball Pokémon. Joey winced in reaction.

"Careful, Joey, Voltorb explode." Professor Oak advised.

"Wha!" Joey jumped up in alarm and backed away from the exploding Voltorb. He scrambled backwards until his back bumped into a tree behind him. The branches shook and several teal pinecone-shaped Pokémon dropped from the tress and landed around the stunned blonde.

"Watchout, Joey! Pineco also explode!" Brock alerted.

Joey screamed as he tried to escaped from the self-destructing Pineco. "Get me out of here!" He then bumped into Tristan and both boys tumbled down hill.

They rolled onto smooth ground at the bottom. In front of them is another ball Pokémon except it is bigger and white and red at top to bottom. "Electrobe!" It grinned.

The friends looked down and gasped. "That's Electrobe, the evolved-formed of Voltorb!" Ash said.

"Electrobe!" The white and red evolved-form shone ominously white.

"It's gonna use Explosion!" Max said.

Joey whimpered in fear. "Oh, Mommy!" Tristan yelled.

BOOM! Joey and Tristan screamed and they flew across corral and landed somewhere in the field.

The friends rushed to the spot where their friends landed. They looked around the grassy plains. "Where did Joey and Tristan land?" May asked.

"There!" Téa pointed.

The friends turned their heads and found their friends on top of a large flower. Their heads were caught inside the center hole of the petals.

"They're stuck inside that huge flower!" Bakura said.

"That's not a flower, that's a Vileplume!" Tracey exclaimed.

Joey and Tristan muffled loudly and struggle to pull themselves out.

"Vile, Vile!" It uttered in startlement.

"Uh-oh!" Ash muttered.

"Don't struggle or Vileplume will-" Tracey didn't chance to finish when Vileplume unleashed a mass of Sleep Powder, sending the stuck boys in a deep sleep.

"Plume!"

Joey and Tristan slipped from the hole and snored on the ground.

"Oh my." Bakura said.

"Are they okay?" Téa asked in concern.

"They're only sleeping." Max said.

"Don't worry, it happens all the time," Tracey assured. "I have just the antidote." He held the Awakening in his hand and went to cure the sleeping teens.

Ash, Pikachu, Yugi, and the friends laughed.

Somewhere nearby, Rex, James, Meowth, Weevil, and Jessie stumbled over the borderline of the Poké Corral, crossing some rocky areas.

"Is this where they keep Pokémon in this area?" Rex asked.

"Of course that's where they keep the Pokémon here, otherwise they wouldn't call it the Poké Corral," Jessie replied with slight irritation. "What kind of question is that?"

"I don't know, I'm just asking." Rex said.

"Oy, look! There are those twerps!" James pointed to the trees ahead.

The quadrant pulled the branches aside and spotted Ash, Yugi, Professor Oak and co. at the meadow, feeding the rest of the Pokémon.

"Eureka! So they are!" Meowth said.

"And our twerps are here too." Weevil pointed it out.

"It's like a Pokémon festival there," Jessie said. "All ripe for the picking!"

"And those idiots' cards are simply asking to be stolen!" Said Rex.

"Wait a second," Meowth put in. "Remember what happen last time?"

Jessie and James thought simplemindedly. "No, not really." The red-haired female partner said.

Meowth groaned and facepalmed. Sometimes he'd just had to remind his dimwitted partners about everything. "Remember back in the virtual when we tried to steal Pikachu and that pyramid puzzle? That big-haired twerp went all hocus-pocus and sent us blasting off with his freaky monsters."

"He's not wrong." Rex put in. "Yugi's pretty much unbeatable."

"It'll be impossible to pass through him without getting blown up." Weevil added.

"Well then, if we want something, we'll have to put our heads together and figure out how to take down our opponents," Jessie said. "That's why we teamed up, right?" She turned to Rex and Weevil who smirked and nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes, I wonder if they even got brains," Meowth thought as he watched the four humans snickered deviously as they cooked up another plan.

"Wobbuffet!"


	25. Team Rocket Strikes Back

**Sorry for the wait. Hope everyone is having a good spring break.**

**PEACE**

The gang lounged around in the ranch for a while. They watched a herd of Tauros roam about in the plains. "So, all these Taurus' are yours, huh, Ash?" Yugi asked.

"I know I'm no Pokémon trainer, but I thought you're supposed to capture only one species each," Joey said. "Why thirty of dem, Ash?"

"Well, let's just say they all took a jump at me when I try to catch some Pokémon." Ash explained modestly, scratching his head. "So yeah, I own thirty Tauros."

Yugi chuckled.

"Pikachu."

"That's one way to catch 'em all," Téa commented.

The rest of the group chuckled.

"Are you guys having fun?" Gary came up to them.

The friends looked up in reply.

"Hey, Gary, what's new?" Ash said.

"Grandpa's computer should be backed up now." Gary informed.

"You wanna go back inside and try to unlock the Pharaoh's past?" Ash asked his ally.

"Uh, sure. Yeah okay, let's do this." Yugi anxiously agreed.

"Pika, Pika."

* * *

Later, the group left the Poké Corral and was heading back inside the lab. "Goodbye, guys. I'll see you later." Bakura waved to his Poké friends who had to go back to their habitats, including Zoroark and her pups who teleported and returned to home.

"I think that's enough Pokémon for today," Joey said.

"The more you spend time with them, the more they'll grow on you," Max said.

Just when they were about to step inside, they picked up some sounds of enthusiastic noises and turned around.

"Huh?"

Out of nowhere, a teenaged girl with sparkling long purple hair and matching skirt and blouse jumped up in front of the heroes and gazed with extreme admiration.

"Is that them? Is it really them?"

Ash and Yugi looked at her with weirdness.

"I must be dreaming! I'm actually seeing the world's greatest trainer!" A teenaged boy wearing a wacky hat with Poké ball springs on them exulted.

"Yugi Muto, the super-duper hunky King of Games is here!" A short teenage girl with long brown hair, makeup, and jumper said in a odd high-pitched voice.

"Super cool!" A short boy about the girl's height shrilled joyfully. He was wearing a tee shirt that had a drawing of a black dragon that had red eyes, a Dark Magician cap, and black sunglasses.

"I am a big fan of both of you!" A smaller kid with large glasses, a poofy afro, and long trench coat that reached his paws. (It is actually Meowth in disguise.)

The group stared at the unidentified visitors with queer. "Who are these people?" Téa asked her friends.

"I have no idea," Max answered.

"Uh...Can we help you, folks?" Professor Oak asked cautiously.

"We're from the Poké-Dueling club!" The purple-haired girl answered. "I'm the president!"

"We're a fan club of both Pokémon and Duel Monsters!" The tall teenage boy said.

"We like to duel and we like to battle!" The odd short girl added.

The friends twerked their eyebrows and cocked their heads in question. "Have you heard of the Poké-Dueling club?" Brock asked.

"I didn't even know there was such a club," Joey said.

"Neither did I," said Max.

What they don't know is that the so-called fan club is actually Team Rocket and Rex and Weevil in disguise.

"We especially love that Pikachu, young man!" Jessie the purple-haired girl said enthusiastically.

"Mind if we hold on to it?" James asked. "I've always wanted to hold on to a Pikachu!"

"Uh...well, I don't know," Ash dubiously hesitated.

"Pika, Pika."

"If it's not too much trouble, Mr. Muto, we'd like to take a picture of your deck." Weevil, the one wearing sunglasses and cap requested, holding a camera.

"My deck?" Yugi asked.

"It would mean the world to us," Rex disguised as a girl said.

"Pretty please?" Jessie pleaded.

Yugi and Ash peered at each other. "What do you think, Yugi?" The trainer asked. "Should we do it?"

"Beats me." Yugi said,

"I don't know if that's a good idea to expose your god cards to unidentified strangers, even if they are from a fan club," May said.

"If it makes your fans happy, I'd say go for it," Bakura said.

"Well, okay," Yugi consented and reached his deck to pull out his god cards.

"And you can take a picture of my Pikachu," Ash permitted.

"Yay!" James cheered.

"Let me take a picture of your god cards first!" Weevil gleed.

"Hey, do me first!" Joey stepped in front of the camcorder. "I've got killer monsters cards that'll knock your socks off."

"NO THANKS!" The fan club strongly rejected.

"Huh?" Joey and the gang looked at them strangely.

"I mean," the blue-haired boy tittered nervously. "We're only interested in Yugi's deck and Ash's Pikachu."

Joey, Max, and Tristan looked at each other in queer.

"Why are you only interested in my cards?" Yugi asked.

"And my Pikachu?" Ash added.

The fan club looked stumped and tried to think up a reason. "Well, uh...because..." Weevil paused in mid sentence. "...because..."

"Because what?" Ash asked.

"Because..we're...interested in the coolest ones only?" James answered sheepishly.

"Yeah, what he said." Rex agreed.

"What? You don't think I'm cool enough for ya?!" Joey ejaculated, insulted.

"Something's screwy about you guys," Gary said, arms folded and tapping his finger on his shoulder. "Why would you think that Ash is the coolest trainer around?"

"Hey! I am the coolest trainer on Earth!" Ash ejected irksomely. "You wouldn't know it if it hit you on the head!"

"Come to think of it, one of you guys do look familiar," Téa put in. "I know I heard those voices before."

Team Rocket stood stiff in fear. "This looks bad!" Meowth muttered in fear.

"You idiots! Grab the god cards!" Weevil said through his gritted teeth.

Just then, Muk the sludge Pokémon came in to welcome the new people. It toppled over Rex and Weevil and pinned them to the ground.

"Muuuuk!"

"WAAAAHHH! Get it off us! Get it off us!" The boys squalled as their bodies were half smothered in purple sludge.

The heroes just stood there and stared.

"Don't just stand there!" The long-haired brunette shouted in a deep voice. "Get this dirty Muk off us!"

The group gawked with weirdness.

"What the-did that girl's voice turn deep?" Joey said with oddity.

Rex squeaked and coughed innocently, trying to act . "I mean-ahem! Gosh, my voice is acting from all this excitement!" He tried to conceal his identity with his phony high voice,

"Shut up, Rex! You gonna give us away!" Meowth hissed.

"Muk!" Muk pounced on him next. He screeched as it reached its slimy paw and pulled off his hat, revealing two black pointy ears and noseless feline face.

The group stared in realization.

"Wait a second, that's Meowth from Team Rocket!" Ash declared.

The exposed scratch cat Pokémon tittered in fear.

"Nice going, Big Meowth! We were this close of snagging Yugi's god cards until you guys messed it up!" The jade-haired bug duelist shrilled angrily.

The heroes expressions changed at what they heard. "Say what?" Yugi repeated.

The group froze in their tracks.

"What's going on here?" Bakura asked.

"Something tells me you are not a fan club at all," Professor Oak said, folding his arms.

The five impersonators tittered nervous under the suspicious glares from the group.

Ash folded his arms and realized that the so-called Pokémon and Duel Monsters club are actually a team of imposters. "Pikachu, use Thundershock."

"Pi-Ka-Chu!" It unleashed a volt of electricity and zapped the so-called news crew and magazine writers, revealing the true identities of three certain thieves and dishonest cheats.

"Who are these three chaps?" Bakura asked as he first sees Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"And these guys?" May asked, eying on Rex and Weevil for the first time.

"That's Team Rocket!" Ash said.

"And Rex and Weevil!" Yugi added.

"Who and What-vil?" Max asked.

"What are they doing here?" Tristan asked.

"Looks like the jig is up, Jess." Rex informed.

"Guess you're right, Rex." The red-haired girl replied.

"Hold on, are Team Rocket and Rex and Weevil working together?" Téa asked.

"Yes, and you better prepare for trouble!" Jessie declared with a smirk.

"And make it double!" James added.

"Again? The same old motto?" Joey said with bored face.

"Not quite! You folks better prepare for triple trouble!" Rex said.

"Make that quadruple!" Weevil grinned, touching his glasses.

"Oh boy!" Max said.

"This should be interesting," Professor Oak said.

The troublesome team posed together as they remixed the original motto. "To protect two worlds from devastation!" Jessie started.

"To unite our peoples into one big nation!" Weevil recited.

Yugi, Ash, Pikachu, and co. watched them with anticipation and bizarreness.

"To extract our differences between duelist and trainer!" James said.

"To band the forces of Pokémon and Duel Monsters!" Rex added.

"Jessie!"

"Weevil!"

"James!"

"And Rex!"

"Don't forget Meowth!"

"This is just too weird." Tristan said.

"Yeah," Tracey agreed.

"Pikachu."

"Whenever there's peace in the universe..." Jessie said.

"And balance between two worlds..." Weevil added.

"Team Rocket..." James put in.

"And the dueling duo..." Rex added.

"Will be there..." Meowth added that last piece.

"To make everything worse!" They all finished together.

"Wobbouffet!"

"Mime, Mime!"

Bakura charmingly applauded. "Jolly good presentation!" He accredited.

"Bakura!" Everyone exclaimed at once.

"What? I'm just being polite." The white-haired boy shrugged and silenced at once.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Brock asked.

"We were just in the neighborhood and we happened to stumble upon the Oak Corral," James answered. "And then we thought while we're here, we're gonna each and every of the Pokémon and ship them to the Boss for a big promotion."

"Not to mention a raise," Meowth added.

"Excuse me, James. But I thought the plan was to steal the Yugi's Egyptian's god cards first and then we go for the Pokémon," Weevil interposed.

"I'm sorry but I don't remember asking your opinion, Dino-Brain!" Meowth retorted.

"You said I could take a shot at it!" Rex argued.

"I only said that so you would agree to work for us!" James said.

"So that was a lie?!"

The male thieves quarreled while the heroes stared at them with weirdness.

It was then impatient Jessie stepped and broke up the quarrel. "Be quiet!" She snapped. "You lunkheads take whatever you find, either way, Team Rocket will not leave here empty-handed!"

"Whatever you say, Jessie." Rex said.

The friends did not appear amused.

"Don't these guys ever learn to give up?" Asked Téa.

"Unfortunately, no." May shook her head.

"Enough talking! Time to swipe some Pokémon!" Meowth declared.

"And cards." Rex reminded.

"Whatever. Either way, we will take what is yours, both your Pokémon and your Duel Monsters!" Jessie declared, enlarging her Poké ball.

"Hand us your Pikachu and god cards or else!" James threatened.

"Not a chance!" Ash refused.

"Pikachu!"

"We wouldn't give you even our lamest cards!" Joey said.

Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed once more as transformation took place. "YU-GI-OH! It seems that you two haven't learned anything at all since the last time we met," Yami Yugi said. "It seems that you like to learn things the hard way!"

"Ha! The only things we'll learn is not to let meddling brats like you interfere with our plans!" Jessie retorted.

"I don't think so!" Ash swiped his hat backwards as he got ready for battle. "I choose you, Grovyle!" He threw the Poké ball and out came his green reptile Pokémon who leaped into immediate action.

"Cactnea, I choose you!" James threw his Poké ball and as always, his cactus Pokémon gave him a painful hug. "Why every time?!"

"I'll help out too..." Yami Yugi stepped in and enlarged an anonymous Poké ball. "Poké GO!" He summoned Ash's Single Horn Pokémon whom he bonded earlier.

"Hera-Hera-Cross!"

Rex and stared in queer. "Huh? Yugi knows how to battle Pokémon?" They said in unison.

"I don't just duel. I make friends with Pokémon and I don't make them do bad stuff just like what you're doing!" The King of Games remarked.

"Oh please! Don't tell me how I use my Pokémon!" Jessie snapped. "Whether or not you're a Pokémon trainer or big shot duelist, I'm gonna take you down and eradicate that smirk permanently!"

"Let's get it on! Heracross, use Tackle Attack!" Yami commanded.

"Heracross!" The beetle-like Pokémon charged at the Team Rocket duo, literally knocking them and Cacnea off their feet.

"Yeah!" The friends cheered.

"Go, Yugi!" Joey cheered.

Rex and Weevil looked envious. "Dude, not only he can duel, but he can battle Pokémon too." The dinosaur duelist commented.

"He thinks he's so perfect! He gave me another reason to steal his god cards!" Weevil grumbled.

"God cards will have to wait!" Meowth said. "While their hands are full, we can sneak in and grab some Pokémon!"

"You go ahead, Meowth. We're sticking around to take my Red-Eyes Dragon back from Wheeler!" Rex said.

"And my Insect Queen!" Weevil added.

"In your dreams!" Joey rebutted.

"Let me give you a hand, Joey!" Brock volunteered.

Joey peered at him. "Wait a second, Brock."

"We got to prevent Team Rocket from stealing the Pokémon." May said.

"We can stop them by working together." Max said.

"We can help the Pokémon while you take care of those troublemakers," Bakura said.

"Seviper, Bite Attack!" Jessie commanded her Pokémon.

Seviper took a leap at the Big Horn Pokémon, opening up its fang wide.

"Heracross, use Counter!" Yami commanded.

"Hera-cross!" Heracross braved against Bite Attack and blocked Seviper's fangs with its long horn.

"Now, use Seismic Toss!" Yami Yugi added.

"Heraaaa!" It lifted the black snake Pokémon high and lobbed it with its horn.

"Seviper Poison Sting!" Jessie hollered a command.

In the air, Seviper expectorated several venomous needles at the Long Horn Pokémon.

"Lookout! Glalie, Aurora Beam now!" Ash intervened.

The face Pokémon quickly fired a colorful ray which vaporized the Poison Sting needles.

"That's cheating! Cacnea, use Mega Punch!" James hollered.

Cacnea threw a glowing fist at the heroes.

"Heracross, block it!" Yami shouted, returning the favor.

Heracross cancelled Cacnea's attack at once.

"I summon Hercules Beetle in attack mode!" Weevil declared.

"And I summon three Gilasaurus on the field!" Rex added.

When they inserted their cards in the slots, their holographic monsters appeared between them and Brock and Joey.

"I choose you, Steelix!" Brock threw his Poké ball and out came his Iron Snake Pokémon.

"If I know how to handle a Pokémon, I'd give you a hand with dis guys." Joey said.

"Remember what I taught you, Joey." Brock advised. "Trust in your Pokémon and they will obey you if you put your heart in them."

Joey nodded and understood. "Okay then." He looked around and spotted a short medium-sized iron Pokémon with four legs and ivory spikes on its back, looking up on his leg. "What's up, little guy?" He addressed.

"Lairon!" It looked at him with its small blue eyes.

"You want ta be my Pokémon for the day?" Joey asked

The armored Pokémon barked and growled determinedly.

"Alright then, Lairon, use Tackle Attack!" Joey said his first command.

Lairon received order and whacked one of the Gilasaurus down.

Rex gawked in awe at the blonde duelist expected Pokémon training skills. "So Wheeler knows how to battle too. Whoop-dee-doodle do!" He said sarcastically.

"Steelix, use Bind!" Brock ordered.

Steelix growled and wrapped its metallic coils around the giant beetle and began squeezing it.

"I'll use Laser Cannon Armor to raise its defense points!" Weevil said as he inserted a spell card to help his monster hardened its shell against Steelix's bind.

"Quickly, while those twerps are preoccupied, we get grab what we can in Professor Oak's research lab!" Meowth said to Wobbuffet, and Mime Jr. He and his partners scurried past the battle and entered opened doors of the research lab.

"I just saw Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Mime Jr. infiltrate the laboratory!" Max said.

"We got to foil them then!" Téa said.

"Go after dem, guys! We'll take care of these guys!" Joey said.

"You heard him! Let's save those Pokémon!" Tristan said.

And so while the heroes are battling the bad guys, the other sidekicks rushed inside to prevent the Poké balls from being stolen.

"Which way to the Pokéball storage room?" Tristan asked.

"That way!" Max pointed to the left.

While the friends hurried down the hallways, Bakura took a different direction up to the second floor.

"Bakura, where are you going?" Tracey asked.

"I have to get the Ball of the Underworld!" Bakura answered, racing upstairs. "They might tried to steal it and I have to make sure they don't!"

"That reminds me; I got to get the research papers!" Tracey ran into the lab.

Bakura arrived at the study room and began searching around the room. "Where is that ball?"

He opened the closet door and found the safe, containing the evil Ball of the Underworld.

"There you are!" He said. His voice grew deeper and sinister. Yes, the spirit of the Ring has came back! Yami Bakura leered and grinned viciously as he held the safe in his hands. "I won't let anyone else have it."

He turned to make his escape when he was encountered by three Pokémon. Meowth, Mime Jr., and Wobbuffet.

"Get out of my way, Poké vermin!" The thief spirit barked.

"Mime, Mime, Mime?"

"I'd say kid, what have you got there?" Meowth asked confidently, arms folded.

"None of your business, furball!" Yami Bakura snapped. "If you'll excuse me-" He stamped and pushed Mime Jr. and Wobbuffet out of the way.

Meowth wouldn't back off. "I bet it's really valuable!" He said, eye gleaming. He took a lunge at the safe. "Give it!" His claws gripped on tight.

"Let go, you fool!" The thief spirit snarled. The two started brawling in the study room while Mime Jr. and Wobbuffet watched.

In the Poké ball storage room, Tristan, Max, May, and Téa rounded up every last Poké ball into the cart. "There! That's the last one!" Max said.

"Where's Bakura?" Téa asked.

Upstairs, Yami Bakura and Meowth struggled in a tug-of-war over the safe. "Let go of the safe if you know what's good for you!" The evil spirit threatened. "This Ball of the Underworld is not a play thing!"

"The Ball of the Underworld?" Meowth repeated in question and stared at the safe. "I don't know what it is, but I bet it's really valuable! That would make a fine gift for the Boss!"

"You don't know what you're up against." Yami Bakura leered dangerously at the clueless cat Pokémon. "Give me the Ball of the Underworld or suffer the consequences!"

Meowth threw a raspberry. "Oh please! What are you gonna do?"

"Unwise decision, insignificant hairball!" Yami Bakura growled. His Millennium Puzzle glowed and casted an immobilizing spell on the scratch cat Pokémon.

"Ehhhh...I...can't...move..." He muffled through his frozen mouth.

Yami Bakura yanked away the safe from the scratch cat's grasp and headed straight for the door. Wobbuffet appeared in front of him, blocking the exit. "Wobbuffet!"

"Get out of my way, Wobbuffet!" Yami Bakura growled.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime, Mime!" Mime Jr. came to the rescue and performed a Doublekick on the thief spirit's legs, causing him to trip and drop the safe. It bounced down the stairs.

"NO!"

Meowth scratched the thief across the face and caught the safe in his paws. "Let's get out of here, guys!"

Mime Jr. hopped behind him. Wobbuffet tailed after. Yami Bakura looked up, face full of scratches and growled in anger. "Blast!"

The heroes rushed to his aid. "Are you alright, Bakura?" May asked.

Yami Bakura turned his head, leering but keeping it casual as the innocent Bakura would. "It's fine. Go after them."

* * *

Outside, Ash and Yami Yugi were still battling against Jessie and James while Brock and Joey battled against Rex and Weevil. "Bayleaf, use Razor Leaf!" The pharaoh commanded.

"Bayleaf!" Bayleaf obeyed and flung multiple sharp green leaves at Cacnea and Seviper.

"Had enough yet?" Yami Yugi remarked.

Jessie and James growled in anger.

"Hey, guys! We gotta get going now!" Meowth hollered from the window. "Time's a-wasting!"

Receiving the message, Jessie and James looked at Rex and Weevil and all nodded, believing it's time they wrapped this up and take something they desire.

"Seviper, use Haze!"

"I activate Volcanic Ash!" Rex played a trap card.

Seviper and Rex's trap card released an amount of black smog that shrouded the group. Everyone coughed in the suffocating smoke, unable to see anything.

"I can't see a thing!" Joey coughed out.

"HA HA HA HA!"

By the time the smog cleared up, they looked up in the air. They saw Team Rocket, Rex, and Weevil are already in their hot-air balloon, making their getaway.

"You made it so easy!" Jessie remarked.

"Get back here!" Joey shouted.

"Thanks for the whatever-you-call here!" Meowth smirked, holding the safe of the Ball of the Underworld.

The group gawked in awfulness. "Oh no! They got the Ball of the Underworld!" Professor Oak exclaimed.

"It was an easy grab!" Rex smirked. He held the three Egyptian god cards in his hands.

Yami Yugi gasped in horror and checked his pockets. "Oh no! They took the Egyptian God cards too!"

"If we let the Ball of the Underworld fall into the wrong hands, the world could be in peril!" Ash said seriously. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower!" Yami ordered.

"Pi-ka-chu!"

"Cyn-da-QUIL!"

Both of the small Pokémon threw out their strong attacks, but Weevil grinned cockily and counterattacked with Insect Barrier and bounced them back at their attackers.

"Pika!" It got by its own lightning!

"Cyndaaaa!" It was burned by its own Flamethrower.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried. He dashed and held his hurt partner in his arms.

"Cyndaquil!" Yami shouted.

"Nice try, but not even your Pokémon can stop us!" Rex smirked.

"Thanks to our new alliance, we can finally get away scot-free and give the prizes to our Boss!" Jessie said.

"Thanks again for the god cards, twerps!" Weevil sneered.

"It's been a blast but we gotta fly!" Meowth added.

"The Boss will be so proud of us!" Jessie smirked.

"Give them right back!" May shouted.

"They're not yours!" Téa shouted. "They belong to the Pharaoh and he needs them!"

"Well, they belong to needy Team Rocket now, and we're giving them to our needy Boss!" James returned.

"And there is nothing you can do about it!" Meowth added.

"Ta-da!" Team Rocket's balloon was floating farther and farther.

"No! They getting away!" May cried.

The gang could only stand there and watch Team Rocket disappear into the clouds, their Pokémon, God cards, and Ball of the Underworld.

"Come back here, you jerks! You think you can just take off like that?!" Max shouted at the top of his lungs and threw tufts of grass he pulled from the ground and rocks at the same direction Team Rocket escaped. May held on to him, trying to ease him. "Let me at 'em! When I get my hands on them, I'll..." He growled in rage.

"Take it easy, Mad Max. We'll get them back." Joey pitched in and soothed.

"I can't believe they took the Ball of the Underworld," May said. "That's bad, right?"

"I'm sorry, I let Team Rocket get away." Bakura said compunctiously. "I tried to stop them but their Pokémon outnumbered me and took the Ball of the Underworld."

"It's not your fault, Bakura." Professor Oak said. "At least, they didn't take the research papers. I still need them to figure out the mystery of the Ball of the Underworld."

"Team Rocket couldn't have gone very far." Yami Yugi said. "I can track them down using the link I connect with my monsters and they'll lead us to their location."

"But Yugi, they have your Egyptian god cards." Ash reminded. "Aren't you worried about what they'll do with them?"

"It could be dangerous if they fell into the wrong hands." Téa said.

"And even if we do find them, we might be too late." Bakura said. "They could accidentally released Cerberus from the Ball of the Underworld, or worse."

Now the group felt very worried, fearing the worst.

"It is never too late, dear friends." A familiar voice said.

"Huh?" The group looked up.

The voice belonged to an Egyptian fellow in a white long robe, turban, and large key around his neck.

"Hey, it's Shadi!" Yugi said.

"Shadi?" The group repeated.

"It's been a while, old friend," Shadi said.

"Same to you, Shadi," Yugi replied. "I didn't expect to see you here.'

"Shadi?" Ash repeated.

"You know this guy?" Max asked.

"We keep running into friends from our world," Joey said. "First, Bakura, and now him."

Ash gazed at the enigmatic guardian spirit for a second and recognized him in a flash. "Hey, wait a minute! I remember you!" He said to Shadi. He had flashback of their encounter at the Saffron City bus terminal. "You're the guy I met from the bus terminal."

"You know Shadi?" Yugi asked.

"I ran into this guy right before we got into the bus to Domino City," Ash explained.

"Really?" Yugi's eyes widened with surprise.

"Shadi, what you said at the bus terminal, did you mean that Cerberus will return and destroy our world?" Ash asked.

"I did. It had been many eons since the pharaoh and traveller sealed Cerberus into the magic ball of the Underworld." The tomb guardian chronicled. "Now that the pharaoh is here, we just need to fully awaken Cypress' memories in preparation of the final battle against the guardian of the Shadow Realm."

The group looked confused. "Who's Cypress?" Ash asked. "And what are you talking about?"

"You may not know it, but you carry the memories of the Pokémon traveler 5,000 years ago. He too dueled against evil, and helped the pharaoh evacuate the people from Egypt." Shadi continued.

The boys looked amused. "He did?" Ash asked.

"While you were asleep, Mew planted Cypress' memories into your mind." Shadi informed.

"HUH?!" At first, the group didn't want to believe him, but they can see the truth.

"I remember!" Ash recalled. He had a flashback about that he dream about his encounter with his "shadowy self". His introduction with Duel Monsters.

"So it wasn't a dream. Mew actually planted those memories inside Ash's brain." Max said.

"That is absolutely nuts." Gary commented.

"That means my dueling against Billy and Kidd wasn't coincidence." Ash realized.

"And my experience with Pokémon wasn't accidental either." Yami Yugi put the pieces together.

The group were highly impressed. "That's amazing!" Said Max.

"Who knew that the pharaoh and traveler were friends in the past?" May said.

"Imagine a duelist and a trainer working together in the past despite their differences of their monsters." Brock said.

"That would explain everything," Tracey said.

"Hmm." Gary folded his arms, half amused.

Only Joey is the one who is still lost. "I don't get it."

"You don't get everything dude." Tristan said.

"Fate works in mysterious ways, don't they?" Professor Oak said.

"What are we waiting for?" Ash said. "We got to stop Team Rocket from unleashing the Ball of the Underworld!"

He, Yami, and the rest of the group ran across the Poké Corral to find the enemies.

Shadi remained where he was and watched them go. He looked up and saw a jet plane shaped like a Blue Eyes White Dragon soaring through the dusk sky at the speed of light. He then saw a tandem rotor helicopter with the red letter "R" painted on the tail.

Shadi knew who is riding in that copter, a descendant from Brutus of archaic Team Rocket.

In the skies, Mew flew through the pink clouds and approached the guardian spirit in the face.

"Mew, old friend. I fear that even with their memories equipped together, the traveller and pharaoh may not be ready for the final battle." Shadi said.

"Mew!" The pink mystic Pokémon took off again and disappeared in the skies.


	26. Cerberus' Wrath

**Sorry for the wait! Two more chapters to go. Drawing it to a close. The ending will be amusing. ;)**

**As you all should know, it is Autism Awareness Month. I dedicate this chapter to users online who have Autism. Have courage and believe in yourselves.**

**Also, I can't wait for the new Yu-Gi-Oh! movie to hit in theaters in the United States. :D**

**PEACE**

Somewhere in the woodlands, Jessie, James, Rex, Weevil, and Meowth had parked their balloon in a meadow. They danced and celebrated their victory. The safe containing the Ball of the Underworld and the three god cards sat next to the boulder. "HA HA! We finally did it!" The red-haired girl exulted as she and her partner swung round and round. "We outwitted those twerps and got away with the Ball of the Underworld!"

"Did you see the look on their faces when we swiped the Egyptian god cards?" Rex laughed.

"It's like taking candy from a bunch of babies!" Weevil added.

"I bet they're feeling like real losers now!" James added.

"It was all thanks to you, boys." Jessie beamed down on the short boys.

"Told you we make a pretty good team." Rex said.

Everyone giggled as they danced more with each other.

Nearby, Ash, Yugi, and co. scoured through the woodland, hunting down for the enemies. "Team Rocket must have landed somewhere," Tristan said.

"They could anywhere," Max said.

"We should split up and comb the whole area," Ash suggested. "Then if we find anything, we'll hollered out."

"Good plan, Ash." Joey said.

"Pika, Pika."

The whole passel broke up into teams and dispersed in several parts of the woods.

"Now the question is: who gets all the credit?" James said.

"Well, it's obviously me, of course." Jessie smirked and brushed her red hair.

"What do you mean you?" Weevil demanded.

"Yeah, we did half of the work!" Rex argued.

"I used Haze to smog those twerps so we could get away!" Jessie retorted.

"But I stolen the Ball of the Underworld!" Meowth argued.

"I stole the Egyptian God Cards!" Rex snapped.

"I prepared the balloon and flew us out of there!" James added.

The four idiots quarreled over who gets the credit until Weevil put in a end to the bickering.

"Cool it!" He tweeted. "The important thing is that we got the Ball of the Underworld, end of story."

"Say, what is the Ball of the Underworld anyway?" Jessie asked.

"Um...I'm not really sure." Meowth said, puzzled. The four gazed at the safe in the center.

"Hold on. I've heard about the Ball of the Underworld." Weevil put in. "I read that it was found in Egypt and it's supposed to carry some kind of legendary monster."

"Legendary monster?" Jessie said.

"Is it Pokémon?" James asked.

"No one's really sure what it is," Weevil said. "Cerberus was probably just a monster that ancient duelists had trouble controlling."

"Either way, it sounds like a promising reward." Jessie grinned greedily. "The Boss will reward us so handsomely."

"That monster is the ticket to endless power." Weevil said, sharing his hunger for power.

"Why do I get the feeling of deja vu?" James asked.

"Mime, Mime."

"I got an idea," Rex said. "Why don't we open the safe, test the god card's power on the Ball of the Underworld, and see what happens?"

"That's a great idea!" Jessie conceded. "Let's found out how powerful these monsters really are!"

"Yeah!" Meowth smiled broadly.

"I'll get to summon this one right here, Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Rex held a card of a fearsome red dragon.

"And I'll summon Obelisk the Tormentor." Weevil held the other card containing a blue monster in his hand.

"And I'll also summon Winged Dragon of Ra," James held up the golden monster card.

"Hold on, who said you get to summon Ra?" Weevil demanded.

"You got the other cards your hand!" James retorted. "I think it's fair that I should hold one!"

"You don't even know how to summon a monster!" Rex retorted.

"How do you get this thing open?" Meowth grunted in effort as he tried to pry the safe open by biting and clawing. "Stupid thing!" He kicked it out of frustration which hurt his paw.

The boys bickered and quarreled once more.

Jessie was growing impatient. "For the love of Lugia, will you just get it on?!" She exploded.

Her male comrades immediately cooled it, compromised, and each held one and two of the god cards in their hands, over their activated duel disk. (James gave the Winged Dragon of Ra to Rex.) Meowth placed the sealed safe in front of Rex and Weevil so they can try and crack it open.

"Here goes!" Team Rocket beamed anxiously as their allies were about to place the unspeakably rare and most powerful into the slots. But before they could do anything, a Crobat swooped in from out of nowhere and snatched all three of the Egyptian god cards out of the boys' hands.

"What?!" Team Rocket gawked with shock.

"The god cards!" Rex and Weevil shouted in horror.

"Crobat!" It held the god cards in its mouth as it fluttered away.

"You idiots! You can't even hold on to the Egyptian God cards!" Jessie shouted.

The safe was then snatched next by a Manetric by a Quick Attack. "The Ball of the Underworld!" Meowth exclaimed.

The Discharge Pokémon barked and ferried the stolen safe on its yellow back as it trotted uphill where the road was.

"What happened? Where did it go?!" James looked around frantically.

"Where did these Pokémon come from?" Rex asked.

"Duh, misplaced somethin'?" An unwelcome familiar voice occurred.

"Huh?!" Jessie, James, Weevil, Rex, and Meowth looked up to the source of that sound.

Standing on a road are two men, one big and other short in western uniforms with the "R" logos on their cowboys hats. Their Pokémon stood by their sides, giving them the stolen goods.

Jessie, James, and Meowth gawked at them in shock as they recognized their rivals. "IT'S YOU!" They shouted in unison.

Rex and Weevil looked with confusion.

Pop! "Wobbuffet!"

"It's Billy and Kidd!" Meowth exclaimed.

Yes, the notorious thieving duo of Pokémon and Duel Monsters are back again! "In the skin!" The blond large man sneered. "Or it's 'in the flesh'?" He thought dully.

"Great job obtaining the Ball of the Underworld and Egyptian god cards." The short man with short black hair and turquoise eyes smirked. "You saved us a lot of the trouble."

"How dare you steal what we had stolen!" Jessie growled.

"Just who do you think you are?" Rex asked.

"Funny you should ask that." Billy riposted.

"Hey, guys, are they members of the same organization you're working in?" Weevil asked his allies.

"Unfortunately yes." Meowth answered .

Kidd eyed on the two former regional champion. "You two look familiar," he addressed. "I recall your names are Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor?"

The smaller boys looked a tad surprised. "You heard about us?" Weevil asked.

"We've seen y'all on TV." Billy said. "Don't look like you got the skills no more."

The dueling boys' expressions morphed into pique. "Hey, I resent that!" Weevil snapped.

"It's a mere wonder why you teamed up with these desperate losers," Kidd added. "Unlike you, we didn't have to team up with any pathetic allies. Not when we have the power of both trainer and duelist."

The ridiculous group steamed up with rage. "Did he just call us losers!" James ejaculated.

"How dare they?" Meowth snarled.

"The Boss will be thrilled about what we done," Billy said, holding the safe in his plump arm. "As for you three, he ain't gonna be." He looked down at his lower-ranked rivals.

"That does it!" Meowth brought out his claws.

"Just because you're both of those, doesn't make you better than us!" James said, pulling out his Poké ball.

"We'll show you who's the better trainer and duelist!" Weevil growled, activating his duel disk.

Accepting the challenge, Kidd took out his Poké ball while Billy activated his duel disk.

"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Jessie threw her Poké ball.

"SEE-VIPER!" The snake Pokémon immediately swung its glowing venomous tail at the short Pokémon duelist.

Kidd threw his Poké ball next. "Kadabra, use Confusion!"

"Ka-da-bra!" The psychic Pokémon used its mind-blowing ESP which froze Seviper and sent it crashing back to its trainer.

"Cacnea, Use Needle Arm!" James commanded.

"Meowth, use Fury Swipes!" The scratch cat ordered himself and lunged at the shrimpy duelist.

"Crobat, use Wing Attack!" Kidd commanded his other Pokémon.

Crobat obeyed and its four wings luminesced white. It then unleashed a gust of wind which carried Cacnea and Meowth in the whirlwind.

Nearby, Ash, and Yami were exploring the woodlands when Pikachu picked a slight commotion that was coming from the thick of trees. "Pika?"

"What is it, Pikachu?" His trainer asked.

"Pika!" It stretched its neck and pointed its head toward that direction, gazing its black eyes at the forest.

"It must have detected something," Yugi presumed.

_"I can feel a battle going on." _The pharaoh spirit presumed. _"I believe it's coming from the road, on the other side of the woods."_

"Let's go!" Ash and his friend hurried over to that location.

"I activate Laser Cannon Armor!" Weevil planted his spell card in the slot which equipped his oversized spider monster with a powerful laser cannon. "It'll give my Insect Queen 300 attack points!"

"I sacrificed my Gilasaurus and Kaitoptera to fusion summon Horned Saurus in attack mode!" Rex combined his two monster cards and created a large pterodactyl-like on the field. "Careful, my big lizard can bite off more than it can chew. Whaddaya say to that?" He smirjed overconfidently.

Billy grinned mischievously as he prepared a swerving comeback. "I would say 'you activated my trap card-" he pulled up a hidden facedown card. "Minefield Situation!"

Jessie and James looked at it with question. "Minefield Situation?"

"Trap card?" Meowth echoed.

"What does it do?" Rex asked.

The answer came to him when multiple explosive plates appeared around the intimidated group. "Hey, what's happening?" Meowth said out loud.

"Oh shutterbug!" Weevil muttered.

Yugi, Pikachu, and Ash ran through the thick trees and arrived at the battle scene on the road, just in time to see their regular enemies literally get blown away by the overheating metal plates.

KABOOM! BANG! BOOM!

"TEAM ROCKET AND REX AND WEEVIL ARE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Jessie, James, Wobbuffet, Rex, Weevil, and Meowth screamed as they catapulted in the air and disappeared into the sky.

"Wobbuffet!"

The heroic boys blinked and ogled at what they have just witnessed. "Okay...I did not see that coming." Ash uttered.

"I kinda feel sorry for them," Yugi commented.

"Pika, Pika."

"Now that we got rid of those banjos and obtained all the required items, I reckon it's time we call up the big man and let him know we're succeeded." Billy said, punching in the numbers.

"Agreed." His short partner replied.

Ash, Yugi, and Pikachu jumped onto the road to confront the foes. "Hold it!"

"Pika!"

The Team Rocket duo noticed the heroes present. "Hmm? Oh well, howdy again, boys." The short man addressed them. "Never thought we'd see y'll again."

"You guys again? I thought we drove you out of town!" Ash said aghast.

"Pika, Pika!"

"Well, we couldn't leave until we finished what we started," Kidd answered smugly. "Show 'em, Bill."

Billy grinned devilishly, shuffled his hand in his pocket, and presented three cards of white dragons with cobalt eyes. "Ta-da!"

The boys gaped at them in dread. "How did you get the Blue Eyes White Dragon? Tell us!" Yugi demanded.

"It wasn't easy, but let's just say a second try was a charm!" Billy smirked haughtily.

"Seto Kaiba had made it so easy." Kidd added.

"But don't worry, we'll make sure that your precious cards and Blue Eyes are in good hands." Billy chortled.

The heroes gritted their teeth in anger. Enough was enough. Momently, they felt a wind brushing down on them. Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi looked up. Above them, Team Rocket's helicopter has arrived and hovered down over road, ready to pick up the recruits. Billy started up the engine as the cargo bay opened up and undocked a loading ramp for the motorcycle to roll in.

"Stop!" Ash opposed. "We're not going to let you get away!"

"Pika, Pika!"

Kidd smirked cockily. "On the contrary, it is _you_ who won't be getting away."

"Huh?" The heroes looked up with confusion.

"We can't have any witnesses roamin' about and warnin' everyone." Billy put in. "Y'all be comin' along for the ride."

"And if we won't?" Yugi asked.

The duelist duo grinned devilishly. "Then your friends will the same fate those idiots did." Billy said in a threatening tone.

Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi quailed. Infuriated, they realized that they must do what the enemies tell them, for the sake of their friends.

"The Boss will love meet y'll, especially you Yugi Muto." Billy said, eying on the spiky-haired duelist. "He'll definitely wanna meet ya! Heh heh heh!"

Yugi growled as he and Ash glared at the cowboy duo with ill will.

"Pika!"

Back in the woodlands, Téa, May, Tracey, Bakura, Joey, and Brock rejoined in the exact same spot. "Did you find anything?" Téa asked.

Joey shook his head no. "Not a clue." Brock answered bluntly. "Any sign of them?"

The girls shook their heads also. "We couldn't find Team Rocket, Rex, or Weevil anywhere." Tracey said. Bakura nodded.

Just then, Tristan and Max came out from the shrubs and ran up to them, panting. "Guys!" The smallest kid exclaimed.

"Did you find Team Rocket?" Bakura asked.

"More than that! We saw Billy and Kidd stealing the Ball of the Underworld from Team Rocket and taking the Egyptian god cards!" Tristan answered seriously.

"What? Billy and Kidd are back?!" The kids repeated synchronously in shock.

"Not only that, they got Ash and Yugi with them!" Max added.

"What?! Oh no!" The group hurried over to the meadow road. There, staying hidden, they witnessed Billy and Kidd boarding Team Rocket's helicopter, along with their new prisoners inside. "You were right, guys. Billy and Kidd are back." Brock said.

"And they got Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi hostage!" Téa said.

"That can't be good news." Joey said.

Bakura scowled and nodded to himself. He separated from the group and took off into the woods without saying a word.

The loading ramp closed up and Team Rocket's helicopter hovered higher above the road and over the trees, on its way to headquarters.

"Oh no! My poor Yugi!" May said worrisomely.

"We got to get back to the research lab and tell Professor Oak." Tracey said.

Just then, they heard a loud roar of a jet nearby. "Huh?" The group looked up. There, they saw a jet shaped like Blue Eyes White Dragon soaring down and landing down on the country road, stopping right in front of the group.

"A Blue Eyes?" Max asked.

"No, this is a jet," Téa corrected.

Tristan stared at the particularly designed aircraft. "It belongs to-"

The cockpits opened up and two boys, one older and one younger exited and jumped off from their jet.

"Hey, it's Kaiba!" Joey said.

"And Mokuba!" May added.

"Who were you expecting, the Barnaby Boys?" The company president responded.

"What brings you guys here?" Téa said.

"While you geeks were enjoying your holiday in Poké world, we had some trouble back in KaibaCorp." Kaiba responded.

"Trouble?" The group repeated.

"Do you remember those two crooks who invaded the virtual world?" Mokuba said. "They came back and stolen the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"What?!" The friends gaped in shock.

"That can't be good!" Joey said.

"What the heck is going on in this world?" Tristan exclaimed.

"Billy and Kidd stole the Egyptian god cards too!" Max added.

"What?! No!" Kaiba looked upset. "Heck no! If anybody's getting the god cards, it's me!"

"We need to figure something out on how to save Ash and Yugi," Tracey said.

The group were about to head back when Téa then noticed somebody missing. "Hey, where did Bakura go?"

The group looked around. "Huh, he was with us a minute ago." Tracey scratched his head.

"I hope he's staying out of trouble," Joey said.

As Team Rocket's helicopter flew over the country, Yami Bakura somehow hitched a ride and was clinging on the tail cone. "Hmph! If those fools think that they have gotten away with my Ball of the Underworld, they're pitifully mistaken!" He said to himself as he rode on, his white hair flying in the atmospheric breeze. "One way or another, that ball will be mine and the world must be purged and cleansed of its disgusting Pokémon vermin and meddlesome mortals!" He looked down, viewing the world which were occupied with several other species of Pokémon which looked up and sensed that a great danger is coming.

Inside the main cabin room, Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi, forced seated by Billy and Kidd, were surrounded by other Team Rocket members who peered unfriendly at them. A couple of them murmured when they recognized the exotic spiky-haired duelist in the seat.

"See that kid with a clownish haircut? That one is named Yugi Muto."

"THE Yugi Muto? The King of Games?"

"What's a duelist doing in the Pokémon World?"

"He must have lost his way to the dueling arena. Heh heh heh!"

"Ash, are those guys Team Rocket?" Yugi asked his friend. "The Pokémon crime-organization that were threatening your world?"

"Uh-huh. They hunt and steal rare Pokémon they could find." Ash replied. "They don't care who were in danger to get what they want."

"Pika!"

Yami's spirit appeared briefly from Millennium Puzzle. "I may not remember this, but I know Team Rocket was awful in the past. Stay sharp, they might try something." Ash and Yugi grimaced as the Billy and Kidd glanced at them with sinister smirks.

Just then, a Persian approached the heroic duo. A man in orange stepped down the aisle and approached the two boys and his achieved hired henchmen.

"Well, well, how nice of you to join me." He smiled. "Well done, Billy and Kidd. You were able to accomplish something our slacking idiots couldn't do." He paused and glared behind him at Cassidy and Butch after they returned from a failed mission, looking ashamed.

"It was all in a day's work, Boss." Billy said. "They didn't even put up a fight."

"The Ball of the Underworld is secured and the rare powerful monster cards are locked inside the container." Kidd added.

Giovanni eyed on the two prisoners. "I see you bought along some guests."

"These two are the ones who were giving us a hard time," Kidd said. "They were such a persistent bunch."

They may be linked to the Ball of the Underworld," Billy added.

"Is that right?" Giovanni first set his eyes on Ash. "You may not remember me but you intervened my plans back on Mount Quana."

Ash glared as he remember their encounter when they tried to capture Mewtwo at Mount Quana.

"Pika." It remembered too when Team Rocket tried to steal the cloned Pokémon.

Giovanni then turned his attention to the short King of Games. "Ah! And this must be the one and only Yugi Muto, King of Games."

Yugi austerely casted his round violet eyes upon the leader of the Pokémon poaching organization.

"From what I heard, you're the distinguished champion and winner of Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Finals." Giovanni observed. "You overpowered the most notorious duelists such as Maximilian Pegasus, Marik Ishtar, and even Seto Kaiba. This is very rare treat indeed. I'm sure we'll get along great." He chuckled sinisterly.

Persian growled lusciously at Ash and Yugi who looked at the dark gelled-haired man with caution.

* * *

Back in Professor Oak's lab, the group were reunited in the research lab with Gary and Professor Oak. They all crowded around the computer while the famous researcher's grandson studied at the computer screen once more. Delia and Mimey were present also. "Okay, so let me get this straight: both Pokémon and Duel Monsters coexisted in the same world as we did, right?" The red-haired mother said.

"Yes, but it's weird. Although we live on the same planet, we're divided in two worlds," Gary said. "The dueling world and the Pokémon world. It has always been the same since 5,000 years ago."

"That's right. Duel Monsters were originated in Ancient Egypt while Pokémon came from the old world regions of Sinnoh and Hoenn." Max said.

"Pokémon trainers and duelists lived together as neighbors, right?" Tristan said.

"Yes, but their worlds collided when two of the worst villains in history attacked Ancient Egypt." Gary put in.

"Two villains?" Brock asked.

"I think there's a painting of him, see if I can find it." Gary clicked on another icon on the computer screen. It imaged a Roman painting of a familiar man wearing a laurel wreath and senator outfit.

"Hey, that one looks like Giovanni, the leader of the present Team Rocket." Brock pointed out.

"Who?" May asked.

"Giovanni, he's the leader of Team Rocket," Brock explained. "He tried to capture Mewtwo and the other Pokémon at Mount Quana."

"He must the descendant of the original Team Rocket." Max added. "I guess some things never die."

"This guy is called Brutus." Gary depicted. "He was a senator in Pokémon Roman Republic. He was also a tyrannical and power-hungry trainer who uses his Pokémon for power and his desire was to take over the world. He led his army to the land of Egypt and tried to steal every rare Pokémon they could find."

"There were rare Pokémon in Ancient Egypt?" Tristan asked.

Just then, a sound of a couple doorbells filled up the whole laboratory. "Hey, not to interrupt, but I think there's someone at the door." Mokuba pointed it.

The party looked with dismay. "Splendid, I wonder who could it be this time?" Professor Oak said.

"Who would visit at a time like this?" May asked.

The ringing continued. "Might as well answer it." Tracey said.

"I'll go with ya, Trace." Joey volunteered and accompanied.

The two boys scurried downstairs to answer the door. "Coming!" Tracey hollered as the bell kept ringing. He opened the door at last. "Yes?"

"Huh?" Joey's eyed widened as he gazed upon the visitor.

Standing at the doorstep was an short elderly man wearing overralls and a bandanna over his gray spiky hair. "Hello, does Professor Oak live in?" He asked in a deep voice

"When you'd get here, Mr. Muto?" Joey asked.

"I took a bus here." Solomon Muto answered. "I had a curdling feeling something 'eventful' may be happening in the Poké world and it won't be pleasant."

"Come on in then." Tracey ushered and the old man entered.

"But what if history was written all wrong?" Max said. "I mean, can archaeologists make mistakes?"

"Archaeologists can't be wrong, Max," Tristan said. "Can they?"

"Well, sometimes they are and sometimes they do get the history all wrong." Professor Oak said. "After all, the past is all a mystery."

"Maybe if we could call this Hawkins guy and ask him about the Ball of the Underworld," May suggested. "He's the one who found that object in Egypt."

"Professor Hawkins is on vacation to the Atlantic, but perhaps I could be of assistance to your research, Professor," Solomon announced as he, Tracey, and Joey returned upstairs.

Professor Oak looked as if he recognized the old shop owner and knew him. "Solomon? Is that you, old friend?"

"It has been a while, Samuel." The veteran duelist smiled.

"Wait, you two know each other?" All the kids said all at once.

"When Solomon and I were young, we had different points of view of Pokémon and Duel Monsters," Professor Oak explained. "We even used to spar our monsters just to see whose was best. Of course we've always ended up in stalemates and in the end we realized that we were on the same page."

"I may be just a gameshop owner, but I do know plenty of the pharaoh's history through my experiences." Solomon added. "In my youth, I traveled to Egypt, hoping to find a lost tomb of the pharaoh. I was exploring the Valley of the King when I came upon to a secret temple that was hidden within the scree."

The group listened with interest.

_In the flashback, young Solomon entered a solitary temple deep in the dry vale. "I went inside and learned that the pharaoh was also acquainted with Pokémon when he was in diapers."_

_He examined the hieratic paintings on the wall which revealed to be Pokémon, the early hundred species such as Ponyta, Charmander, and Blastoise._

_**"It turned out to be a shrine for a brave young man who fought alongside with the pharaoh and saved the world from a demonic tyrant."**_

"I bet he's talking about that traveler," Max commented to May and Joey. "Ash's ancestor."

"But that wasn't all," Solomon continued. "I also encountered three legendary Pokémon; Suicune, Raikou, and Entei."

"You actually met Suicune, Raikou, and Entei?" Max asked in surprise.

"Actually..." Solomon answered as he had a flashback of himself seeing three statues in the Pokémon temple.

_** "I only saw the statues...but I could feel their energy presence around me, like they're in the room with me."**_

_The statues glowed mystically in different colors. _

_**"They presented me a vision, taking me back 5,000 years in time from today. I saw the vision of the pharaoh and traveler battling against the enemies in Egypt. One of them looked familiar. The thief bandit that the pharaoh was battling looked a lot like Bakura."**_

"Bakura?!" The group repeated.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yami Bakura climbed his way around the helicopter, seeking to infiltrate inside. He clung to the metallic side like a squirrel glider on a tree. His feet finally touched on the fuel tank covering and carefully inched his way to a circle opening that leads inside the helicopter. He finally reached an emergency escape hatch and used his Millennium Ring to pry it open. "The things I do for one lousy mystic artifact..." He said to himself as he slowly slipped inside the hatch.

"Tell me, something, Giovanni, why do you seek the Ball of the Underworld?" Yugi asked. "What do you planning on doing with it?"

"And why do you need Yugi's god cards and Blue Eyes White Dragon anyway?" Ash added. "I thought you guys only steal rare Pokémon."

"Pikachu."

"You boys are a curious bunch," the middle-aged man responded. "But I suppose there's no harm in telling you. You're both fully familiar of the story about the battle between both worlds, are you not? The one when trainers and duelists used to battle each other before, a certain disaster came upon them?"

The boys looked with silence in reply. Of course they are completely aware of the legend.

"Well, there's sort of a secret twist in this story." Giovanni put in with a gleam in his eye.

Ash, Yugi, and the rest of the Team Rocket members opened ears with complete interest. Billy and Kidd just stood with arms folded, not caring about some silly fairy tale involving monsters or twists.

"Pika." Pikachu, sitting on Ash's lap murmured. The pharaoh's spirit briefly emerged from the puzzle and entered its mind.

_Pikachu, while everyone's abstracted, now's your chance to sneak and retrieve the god cards so we can help our friends_. He indicated to the small container sitting on the opposite seats, next to one grunt.

_Pikachu?_ It thought back.

_Don't worry, I'll create illusions so that no one suspects anything._ The pharaoh assured and went to work on his magic. _Now go._

"Pika." It frowned in consent and slowly slid off of Ash's lap and bounced on the floor.

"As you should know, Team Rocket was originated in Rome. It was also where the most powerful trainers came from." As Giovanni recited the story, Pikachu stealthily crawled underneath the seats, making his way towards god cards.

"The most powerful trainer of all history was the great senator and trainer of Pokémon Roman Republic, Brutus."

"Brutus." Ash repeated.

"Hang on," Yugi spoke up. "I think we heard that name before." He had a flashback of him, Pikachu, and Ash entering the virtual temple where it contained a cella full of Pokémon, almost like the one young Solomon visited. "We learned Brutus and his army invaded Egypt and tried to steal all the rare Pokémon in Egypt. They also tried to take the pharaoh's Millennium Puzzle so they can gain more power. They also wanted the other Millennium Items to resuscitate their worshipped monster, Cerberus."

"That part is true. But they weren't just after power or rare Pokémon," Giovanni continued. "There's more to that than just reviving Cerberus."

"Oh?"

"I should know all this; I'm the descendant of Brutus." Giovanni smirked deviously.

"Descendant?" The boys repeated.

Pikachu was at the seat, setting his black eyes on the small container containing the powerful cards. He lifted himself and reached its tiny paws. Persian sensed something wrong and turned its head. But luckily, the pharaoh from the Millennium Puzzle helped by using Millennium magic to keep Persian from being on Pikachu's back.

Little did they know, Yami Bakura was hiding in the shadows, listening to every word.

* * *

"What's the difference between Pokémon and Duel Monsters anyway?" Max asked.

"There were two kinds of monsters actually; the one living and breathing creatures that existed in this world were Pokémon and the other were spiritual creatures that dwell in the Duel Monsters spirit world. There's a difference between them." Professor Oak said.

"They also dwelt inside of people's hearts as part of their Ba, which is soul." Solomon added. "Ancient Egyptians can summon their monsters to life by combining their Ka (life energy) and Ba and bring them to the field, just like you put your card in a duel disk."

"And like trainers release their Pokémon from Poké balls," May added.

"Right." Solomon and Professor Oak said together.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are we taking history lessons about monsters or are we discussing about some imaginary creature that doesn't exist?"

"Hey, Kaiba, don't interrupt." Gary put in. "I don't believe in this mumbo-jumbo either, but we got no choice if we want to get back to our normal perfect lives."

"What does that got to with everything?" Téa asked.

"According to the book, the thief king also attacked Egypt during the raid by Team Rocket," Solomon poured in more details.

"You mean Bakura's evil spirit, right?" Joey said. "The one that tried to take down the pharaoh and steal his Millennium Puzzle and stuff?"

"When the pharaoh confronted the thief in the pharaoh's chambers, the strife built up much entire tension in the chambers of spirits that it attracted demons from the depths of the Shadow Realm." Solomon added.

"Meanwhile, the traveler helped by driving off the Team Rocket gladiators out of the Egyptian kingdom." Professor Oak put in. "As it turns out the Team Rocket raid was only a mere diversion so the thief can ensure the succession of gaining of both the Items and the powers of rare Pokémon through contract."

"You mean, it was just foul play?" Joey said

"Even though they were hunting for the different reasons, their goals were on the same thing," Solomon said.

"What's that?" The kids asked.

"Cerberus." Professor Oak and Solomon answered.

"Cerberus?"

"Cerberus was three-headed monster developed out of the Ba of the thief king and the pieces of the dark Pokémon, designed to exterminate all humankind," Professor Oak put in the last piece. "It turns out that the war between duelists and trainers was only a ritual for the arrival of Cerberus and Team Rocket was the offerings."

Everyone expressed in amazement at what they learned.

* * *

"After your ancestors banished their enemies to the Shadow Realm, Cerberus emerged from the depths underground, fully empowered and ready to kill." Giovanni continued the story. "It was all part of their plan."

"Plan?" The boys looked up with confusion.

"Why of course. They couldn't do it alone. So Brutus allied with a rogue duelist from the dueling world. He helped give Team Rocket access to Egypt so they can take everything in sight for the exchange of the pharaoh's Millennium Item." Giovanni paced as he spoke.

"They actually teamed up with a thief duelist?" The boys said in a mixture of confusion and amazement.

"That's right. So with the combination of their dark souls and power, they bought forth the three-headed guardian of the Shadow Realm to the real world. It was the monster of all monsters. It was majestic."

"Of course, Cerberus raged out of control and nearly destroyed half of the world. That is until the meddlesome friends the three legendary Pokémon butted in and helped the three Egyptian god monsters seal the beast into the Ball of the Underworld and ensconced in the lowest part of the pyramid.

"That's why we needed the Ball of the Underworld so we can finish what our forefathers couldn't!" Giovanni finished, clenching his fist in vow.

The pharaoh who heard from the Millennium Puzzle was astounded by the secret behind the story, he nearly omitted to create an illusion to distort the grunt's eyes, just when Pikachu was opening the case.

Hidden in the shadows behind the equipment, Yami Bakura was slightly surprised d. He learned that the Team Rocket leader was the descendant of his evil ally, Brutus. In his ancient past, back when he had his own body, he indeed teamed up with the villain of old Poké world, just for the power of Cerberus they could harness together. That changes everything.

* * *

"So Cerberus the three-headed dog of the Shadow Realm was begotten by Giovanni's malevolent ancestor and the evil bandit incarnate of Bakura," Brock climaxed. "It wasn't conceived by war, greed, or abuse over Pokémon. Cerberus was just a monster designed to destroy everything that moves. If that thing gets loose, the world will be great danger."

"Those ancient psychopath sickos!" May said. "How could they create a monster like that?"

"Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi are in Team Rocket's helicopter," Téa said.

"Oh no!" The friends exclaimed in fear.

"They may be in grave danger!" Tracey said. "We may have solve the mystery too late!"

Everyone expressed in great worry, not just for their friends but for the fate of their two worlds.

* * *

Outside, the sun was setting. In the shadows of the trees, a sinister shadowy shape lurked in the darkness, revealing revengeful eyes, belonging to a human-shaped head with a laurel head. Next to him are fierce feline eyes, sharing its lust for revenge as several eyes appeared next.

* * *

Somewhere deep in the lake, the legendary water Pokémon Suicune sensed the planet in the brink of doom. It can feel immense evil growing upon the globe and thought it was time that it and the other two take action.


	27. Worlds Collide-Part One

"Fascinating story, wouldn't you agree?" Giovanni said, grinning malevolently.

Neither of the boys responded. They just sat there, glowering in silence.

"Come now, boys. Lighten up." Giovanni said. "It's not we're hurting anyone, right?"

"You and your ancestor are just the same." Ash finally spoke up. "Power-hungry and tyrannical, don't care who you'd endanger to get what you want."

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Yugi said.

Giovanni turned his back. "You don't know the true power of Team Rocket." He returned.

Persian growled and licked its lips as it leered its keen red feline eyes on the two boys.

"_We need to get out of here,_" the pharaoh said from the Millennium Puzzle.

Meanwhile, Pikachu finally gotten hold of the god cards. "Pika!" It said to itself quietly.

Unfortunately, the grunt who was sitting next to the case finally turned his head. "Wha-hey!"

"Pika!" It jumped back in scare.

Giovanni and company turned their heads. "What the-"

"Run, Pikachu!" Ash shouted warningly.

"Pika!" It jumped from the seats with the cards.

"Get that Pikachu!" Giovanni shouted.

The members lunged and tried to grab the leaping mouse Pokémon but ended up crashing knocking each other out.

"Imbeciles!" Kidd said in dismay.

"Pikachu!" It leaped and landed safely in Ash's arms.

"Good work, Pikachu!"

"Pi Pikachu!" It held the cards in its mouth.

"Awesome, you got the cards!" Yugi said ecstatically as he took the cards from Pikachu.

"How dare you!" Giovanni growled. "Impertinent rascals!"

"Let's get the Ball of the Underworld!" Ash said as he and Yugi jumped from their seats and tried to wrench the safe out of its chains.

"We'll get them." Butch and Cassidy stepped in to stop the boys from trying to get away with the Ball of the Underworld.

"Where do you twerps think you're going?" The carrot-top girl confronted.

"Why do you care? That Ball of the Underworld is not yours and it's not safe either!" Ash retaliated. "We can't let you release Cerberus to our world!" He clutched the safe in his arms.

"Oh no you won't!" Butch seized hold of the safe, threatening to yank it away.

"Stay out of our way, Butch!" Yugi ordered.

Feeling grateful to be addressed correctly by the spiky-haired twerp, Butch had no choice but to let go of the safe.

Cassidy shot her angry glaring eyes at her idiotic partner. "What are you doing!"

"He called me Butch!" The turquiose-haired teen shrugged.

"Come on, Ash!" Yugi grabbed his younger friend who held the safe in his arms and headed for the docking rear.

"Yeah, go get 'em!" Butch awkwardly cheered for the boys.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Cassidy shrilled.

"He called me 'Butch'?" The blue-haired recruit said sheepishly.

Giovanni growled in frustration. "Don't just stand there!" He snapped at his dueling henchmen behind him. "Stop them!"

"As you wish, sir." Kidd responded calmly, activating his duel disk.

Just then, Yami Bakura stepped out from the shadows and confronted the fleeing boys. "Hold it right there!" He barked.

Everyone jumped up in response.

"No one's going anywhere! You have something I want!" Yami Bakura said viciously.

"Bakura?" Ash and Yugi spoke up in unison.

"Pika?"

"Who in Groudon's name are you and how did you get in here?" Giovanni demanded.

Butch and Cassidy whimpered and hid behind their leader at the recognition of the white-haired boy.

"That's him, Boss!" The orange-haired girl said. "That's that crazy kid who knocked us off with his freaky hocus-pocus magic and robbed us at our mission!"

"That's right, I'll send more idiots to the Shadow Realm if you don't meet my demands!" The evil spirit promised.

"Bakura? What are you doing here?" Ash asked in surprise.

Yami Bakura leered at them with demonic eyes.

"I don't think that's Bakura, Ash." Yugi said. "I think that evil spirit is back!"

"What? Again? I thought you sent him to the Shadow Realm, Yugi." Ash said.

"Hand over the Ball of the Underworld and no one gets hurt!" Yami Bakura demanded.

"Enough! Nobody's handing over anything!" Giovanni barked.

"Don't make him mad, Boss." Butch warned. "He'll do to you what he did to us!"

"Be quiet!" Giovanni snapped at his timid soldier. He glared at the white-haired boy. "I don't know who you are, boy but you are not getting what I have!"

Yami Bakura sneered malevolently in reply. "Thought you might say that. Tell you what I'm going to do, Giovanni..." He chuckled as his Millennium Ring began to jiggle.

Butch and Cassidy whimpered in fear. Giovanni looked at him with a creepy feeling. Billy and Kidd just looked at the mystic white-haired boy in curious anticipation.

"Oh no! He's going to banish everyone to the Shadow Realm!" Yugi said in trepidation.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Wave!" Ash commanded.

"Pika-" Pikachu was about to release high watts of paralyzing electricity.

Outside, Team Rocket's helicopter was closing in through abnormally dark gray and red clouds which emitted out booming noises from the cumulus within. A couple of flying black dogs, (the sames ones from the last level of the virtual world) emerged from the crimson nimbus and surrounded the helicopter.

The flying hellhounds morphed into a stream of black mist, snaking their way to the rotors where they jammed the hydraulics with their blackness.

Momently, the entire cabin shook violently. Everyone yelped in alarm and were flung across the room like salad. Giovanni, Persian, and Yami Bakura slammed against the wall, knocked out.

Ash groaned and lifted his head up. "What...was that?"

"Pika..."

Yugi sorely looked outside the window and saw the skies are menacingly gray. "I got a bad feeling about this."

Billy sat up and rubbed his head smartly. "Duh, hey Kidd. I think now's a good time to take the Ball and git on out of here!"

"No agreement here, Bill." Kidd agreed, laying facedown. "But first, get off of me or we ain't going nowhere." His large partner on top of him, squishing him beneath his fat legs.

Cassidy groaning, rose her head up and noticed the cowboy duelists snatching the safe from the downed heroes. "Hey, what do you guys think you're doing?" She asked suspiciously.

"Our work here is done," Kidd replied. "Time to we take our payments and be on outta here."

"Payments? What do you mean?" Butch repeated.

"Don't tell me you thought we was doing this for the Boss," Billy smirked wickedly. "We were only after the rare god cards and now that we got the unlimited power of Cerberus!"

"You guys are crooks!" Butch stated. "You played on both sides to get what you want!"

"You've very perspective." Billy remarked. "But there ain't nothing you can do about it!"

"Now we have to get going." Kidd announced as he and his partner prepared their escape.

"Not if we could help it!" Ash stood on his feet.

"Pika!"

Yugi transformed into the pharaoh at once. "You want the Ball of the Underworld, you'll have to fight me for them!" He pulled out his duel disk, the one he had been reserving since the Pokémon Shadow Battle.

"It's on now!" Kidd announced as he too activated his duel disk.

"Come and get it!" Billy smirked as he kept the safe tucked under his arms.

"This could get ugly," Butch said.

"Let's get away from here!" Cassidy said.

She and her partner grabbed jet packs and they evacuated the helicopter.

"Pikachu, Use Quick Attack and get the safe!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" It received commanded as shot at lightning speed to thrust the safe out of from Billy's cirque hold.

"Oh no you don't!" Kidd rebutted and placed his monster card in the slot. "Daisy Dodger, rope that rodent and bind it!"

The antlered anthropomorphic rabbit appeared and roped his lasso around the mouse Pokémon, yanking it back down.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried in concern.

"Chaii!" It squealed in distress as the rope tighten around its body.

"The Ball or your Pikachu? What'll it be?" Billy opted threateningly.

"That's playing wrong!" Ash said angrily. "Let my Pikachu go!"

"Kuriboh, help Pikachu!" Yami Yugi came to the rescue and placed a card in his slot, making his token monster appear.

"Boh!" It hopped around Rabid Jackalope.

"Pika?" Pikachu opened one of its compressing eye.

"Please! Not those blasted fuzzballs again!" Kidd rebutted.

"Then I use Multiply, to create a full army of Kuriboh!" Yami used his next spell card. As a result, one and three more of these furry token creatures appeared, followed by sixty more and counting.

Rapid Jackalope was overwhelmed by a crowd of Kuribohs that he lost grip of his rope and Pikachu managed to squeeze free from the loop and from the pile.

"Pika!"

The Kuribohs also surrounded Billy. One of them pushed the safe from under the large man's shoulder joint and they carried it around over their claws.

"Duh, no way!" Billy exclaimed in shock.

"You fool!" Kidd shouted as he was now getting toppled from the overpopulating Kuribohs.

Persian pounced and tried to claw them all, but was no match for the flowing Kuribohs.

"Good job on getting the safe back." Ash stiflingly commented. "But how do you stop those Kuribohs?" His face was pinned against the wall by the cramming Kuribohs.

"I can't reach my duel disk!" Yami tried to move his arm across towards his duel disk but there weren't any elbow room due to the overflowing token monsters.

"Pika!" It was squished between the furry monsters.

The entire cabin was filling up with nonstop multiplying Kuriboh. Giovanni and Yami Bakura stirred up in the chaos. Everyone exclaimed as they are caught in wave of Kuribohs. Underneath the burden, a grunt accidentally pressed a red button on the wall that opened up the loading ramp, where they are about 100 feet in the air!

Numerous Kuribohs began flying out the helicopter. The members screamed as they too were being suctioned by the gravity force and pulled out from the loading rear. Lucky for them, they came with parachutes and they descended slowing in the altitude.

"Meddlesome pests! Ya'll regret this!" Billy snarled.

"Whatever it takes to keep you from taking the Ball of the Underworld!" Ash returned.

"What have these fools done?" Yami Bakura emitted through his gritted teeth.

Giovanni opened his eyes and swept off the Kuribohs off him. "Bring back my Ball of the Underworld!"

"_Your_ Ball of the Underworld?" Yami Bakura returned.

"Pika!"

"Grab the safe!" Ash cried.

The remaining Kuriboh passed the safe around. From opposing sides of the clearing cabins, Ash, Yami, Billy and Kidd made reach for it.

Suddenly, there was another turbulence. Everyone exclaimed and lost footing once more. The Kuribohs dropped the safe and it fell loudly on its side. The combination lock jammed and the door swung open, allowing for mystic dark Ball of the Underworld to pop out freely from its confinement.

"The Ball of the Underworld!" Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura shouted in unison.

"Grab it!" Giovanni shouted.

"Pika!"

"Reow!"

Pikachu and Persian made a run for the rolling Ball of the Underworld.

"Don't let it fall!" Ash shouted.

Persian and Pikachu raced across the cargo floor, trying to catch the runaway artifact. But neither were quick enough to grab the orb before it reached the rear and fell out from the helicopter.

"Pika!" It tried to screech to a halt.

"Grrroaw!" Persian clawed onto the metal surface and held on.

Each of the human's faces were struck with shock and horror.

"NOOO!"

The Ball of the Underworld tumbled in the gravity air. It plunged down to the earth, disappearing in the dark trees.

"NOOO!" Yami Bakura howled.

"You fool! Now look what you come and done!" Giovanni shouted.

"It's your own undoing!" Ash retorted.

"If you hadn't stolen the Ball of the Underworld, Bakura, this wouldn't be happening!" Yami Yugi addressed the thief king.

"So what you're saying it's my fault?" Yami Bakura snapped. "In that case, I have completed my task.

"What does that mean?" Yami Yugi asked suspiciously.

* * *

The sky was ominously gray. The wind was blowing and there massive white-purple lightning struck from the abundant black clouds to the ground in a valley spot. An apocalyptic storm was pulled in due to the reviving of an evil monster.

Back at Pallet Town, the group stepped outside the laboratory and also saw the phenomenal tempest going on. "Oh my, what strange weather we're having." Delia said.

"Mime Mime."

"Either this is a freak storm or something bad is going to happen," Tracey said.

"I think I'm gonna agree with number two," Joey said.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Solomon said gravelly.

"There is something sinister happening there and it won't be very pleasant," Professor Oak added.

* * *

Huge and diabolical lightning struck continuously over the mountain ridge. The black and gray clouds thickened in the sky, expanding the darkness across the lands...and over the Poké world and the Duel Monsters world. Out from the black woods, a colossal dog-shaped shadow with three heads rose up and stood on its four legs. The people in the helicopter gaped in horror.

In its incorporeal mouth is the Ball of the Underworld.

"That's the-" Yami Yugi choked out.

The Ball of the Underworld cracked and shattered to pieces. Silence fell upon the terrorized world. The colossal shadow began change appearance again. It fully transformed into a physical and flesh form of fur. Ash and Yami gaped at it in speechless horror. It looked like the same beast the boys dueled in the final level of the virtual world. Except it was gray and black all over, only their eyes still had their original colors, red, white, and yellow. Ash, Pikachu, Yami Yugi gawked with trembling eyes of awe. Billy and Kidd stared at it with speechless awe. Even Giovanni, and Persian were stupefied by the sight of the mythical horror of the tremendous beast of devastation. Yami Bakura on the other hand was extremely gratified. Cerberus the three-headed guardian of the Shadow Realm was finally free after 5,000 years of confinement and now it is loose upon the face of the Earth.

"PIKA PIKA PIKACHU!" It was the same beast Pikachu saw through the Millennium Puzzle.

The black 100-foot three-headed beast stood on their four legs at the top of the mountain and each head breathed their first breath of air. Their lips pulled back in a snarl full of sharp flesh-tearing fangs. It was so gigantesque, so godly tremendous that it could be seen standing on two sides of the world.

Even Professor Oak and co. could also see the monster from the laboratory. Their faces were froze with awe and horror.

"Mime, Mime." Mimey uttered in fear.

The Pokémon in the Oak Corral can also see Cerberus and were terrified by that the nightmare had finally come true.

Cerberus breathed through his nostrils and growled loudly.

"No way! That looks like the same beast we fought at the virtual world!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika Pika!"

"It is," Yami Yugi whispered. "Look at those teeth!"

"Pika!"

"Yes, Cerberus has finally been freed from his prison!" Yami Bakura said. "Of course he only has half of his power restored from being trapped in the Ball of the Underworld for so long, but he will be whole again sooner. In the meantime, why don't you and I kill some time by having..." He glanced at the heroes with conniving malevolence. "...a Shadow Game?"

Yami Bakura looked up at the Team Rocket leader. "I think you and I need to team up, Giovanni." He suggested. "Together, you and I can take on our enemies in the Shadow Realm, just like our ancestors did 5,000 years ago. We can avenge them and punish the descendants of the foolish pharaoh and meddlesome traveler and fulfill their dreams."

As he spoke, Cerberus, just broken out from the Ball of the Underworld stomped over the forest, terrorizing all the living things that stand in his way. He had his minions, the flying dog gargoyles and the shadow hounds on ground disperse to carry out his evil plans.

On the dueling side, the people in Domino City noticed the flying creatures in the sky and panicked. Several trainers on their journey also saw the shadow hounds encountering them.

"By the time we're finished, we will have everything we want and together we can control the whole world." Yami Bakura finished. "What do you say to that, Giovanni?"

To their unawareness, a vengeful spirit was lurking in the cabin and pierced its way into the former Viridian City gym leader's body. It appeared that Giovanni's body got possessed by his ancestor Brutus' spirit, giving him a vital and despotic sense of battle. He smirked in consent at the boy. "You are crazy, boy. But I like your style." He turned back to the heroes. "As for you brats, you have wasted half of my precious time and now you must suffer the consequences."

Ash and Yami prepared to arm themselves.

"And those who are traitors must also pay the price." He had his eyes set on Billy and Kidd who looked back at them in confusion. "Persian, attack!"

Persian lunged fiercely at the group which they hastily stepped backwards...toward the opened loading rear! Kidd slipped on the ramp first and started rolling down. Ash, Yami, and Pikachu expressed in shock.

"Kidd!" Billy shouted.

Kidd screamed as he was about to plunge to his doom.

"Lookout!" Ash rushed and caught the short man by the arm in time.

"Pika!"

"Ash!" Yami cried.

Billy exclaimed in awe.

Ash held on to the rail while kept his grasp on Kidd's arm with the other. "Hold on!" He grunted as he tried to pull themselves up with all his strength.

Kidd could not believe what happened. The Pokémon trainer who was his foe just saved his life, despite after the trouble and distress he and Billy put him and Yugi through.

Pikachu and Yami helped Ash out and fished the two back safely in the cabin.

"You alright, Kidd?" Billy asked.

"Why did you-" Kidd started to speak.

"I just saved your life," Ash said.

Billy took his short partner and the two duelists stared at the humble boys strangely. "Duh, what are you tryin' ta-"

"Get out of here!" Yami Yugi cut him in mid-sentence pushed the Team Rocket duelists out of the emergency hatch. Their flying Pokémon come out and ferried them to safety.

"Hey, you could have killed someone!" Ash said.

"That's the idea!" Yami Bakura cackled.

Both of the villains laughed as the cabin filled up with dark purple and ghoulish essence. Yami Yugi and Ash looked around with fear as they realized where they are.

"Oh no! Not another Shadow Game!" The young trainer said, now fully aware of the dangers of the dark magic.

"Pika!"

"Bakura!" Yami Yugi snarled.

"Feeling lucky there, Pharaoh?" Yami Bakura taunted. "You should be, because we're going to have a double showdown!"

"A double showdown?" Yami Yugi and Ash repeated.

"You shall battle with me now, Ash Ketchum." Giovanni said darkly. "You should be aware of the rules of the Shadow Games. When your Pokémon takes a hit, you too will feel the pain. Whosever Pokémon lose the match, loses his soul. Heh heh heh!"

His Persian growled and hissed in challenge.

"And I'll take on the pharaoh." With the dark powers of his Millennium Ring, a duel disk appeared on Yami Bakura's forearm. "It'll be trainer vs. duelist vs. trainer vs. duelist. Our monsters vs. against your monsters. Then we shall see which species is stronger."

Ash shook his head in refusal. "No!"

"Pika!"

"This is really a bad time to be playing a Shadow Game!" Yami Yugi argued. "In case you forgot, Cerberus is now loose in the real world and he'll destroy both worlds as we know it!"

"Don't worry, that time will come sooner than you think!" Yami Bakura remarked.

"I don't want to battle you, Giovanni, especially when we're in the Shadow Realm." Ash said. "Don't you realize that if I defeat you, you'll be sent to the Shadow Realm?"

"Pika Pika!"

"You should worry about yourself, twerp!" Giovanni remarked, dark aura surrounding him. "With part of my ancestor's soul inside me, I can survive the darkness of the Shadow Realm. You, on the other hand can't. You'll be gone before round one."

"And the pharaoh will join him before long," Yami Bakura added. "You can be sure of that. We'll make this battle very quick."

Both of the villains laughed blatantly in sure triumph. Yami Yugi and Ash growled in ire. The heroes had no choice but to prepare to battle against their enemies in the Shadow Realm.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cerberus laggardly stomped over the valley, looking for souls to reap to restore its power. Wild Pokémon panicked and tried to flee.

Three legendary beasts, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune arrived on the cliff. "There he is, Cerberus." The mystical water Pokémon literally thought out loud in human language. (It is female.) "He hasn't changed much. He is still weak after being trapped in the Ball of the Underworld for so long. Though we must be careful, he still dangerous."

"Without the help of the god monsters we may not stand a chance." Raikou, the legendary thunder Pokémon said. "Battling him will not be easy."

"We'll just have to fight with everything we possess," Entei, the Volcano Pokémon said.

Cerberus looked back, glared at the trio, and growled ferociously. The beasts prepared to fight and defend the world, with or without their allies from the other side of the world.

* * *

Back at the Oak Laboratory, the group are encountered by the same hellhounds under Cerberus' rule. "Heads up! We got company!" Brock pointed.

The shadow dogs barked threateningly at the humans.

"What are those things?" Tracey asked.

"Those are the same creatures that attacked us at the Virtual Dome!" Max said.

"Not again!" Téa said.

"Where did they come from?" Tristan asked.

"From Cerberus, who knows?" Solomon presumed.

"We got to fight back and protect the Pokémon!" May said.

The duelists activated their duel disks in preparation of battle. "Alright, ya black freaks!" Joey stepped forward and three cards. "You wanna dance with da devil?"

"Let's go!" Gary enlarged his Poké ball.

"If only I had my Blue Eyes White Dragon," Kaiba muttered to himself.

"Just use everything you got." Mokuba said.

The trainers released their Pokémon from their Poké balls and duelists inserted monster cards in the slots and all of their monsters appeared before them, preparing to defend their trainers and owners from the encircling hellhounds.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the Shadow Game, Pikachu was using Quick Attack to dodge Persian's Screech and tackle it on the head.

Giovanni groaned and held his head in pain from his Pokémon's damage. He then chuckled sinisterly and leered at the boy. "Splendid work, intrepid boy. Wishful thinking." He remarked.

"We need to stop this now!" Ash said. "You don't realize what's happening right now in the real world."

"He's right, Giovanni." Yami Yugi put in. "Both of you must come to your senses and look out the window!"

"Why stop now when we're having a too much good time?!" Yami Bakura cackled. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"We need to break out of this Shadow Game and figure out how to save our world." Yami implied.

"No argument from me," Ash agreed. "But it'll be easier said than done."

"I sacrifice Beta the Magnet Warrior and Feral Imp to summon Dark Magician!" His favorite monster appeared before him. "Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician casted his spell on one of Yami Bakura's trap cards, demolishing it.

"Heh heh! I caught you off guard!" The thief spirit smirked. "Dark Spirit of the Silent, infect his Dark Magician!"

Yami Yugi gasped in fear.

A creepy skeleton ghoul appeared from the other trap and wafted over the defenseless Dark Magician.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail and stop that Spirit!" Ash stepped in.

"Pika!" It leaped over and cudgeled its white gleaming tail on the Dark Spirit, preventing Dark Magician from being possessed.

"Good save, traveler." Yami Bakura said. "But an unwise move."

"Huh?" Ash gasped.

The possessed Giovanni cackled abominably. "Persian use Fury Swipes!" He commanded his Pokémon.

"Rroar!" Persian growled and swooped down its multiple claws at the mouse Pokémon, leaving it with stinging red marks"

"CHAIIII!"

Ash yelled in agony as he felt the claws stinging upon his chest.

"Ash!" Yami Yugi shouted.

"Don't worry, Pharaoh, I didn't leave you out!" Giovanni turned his dark tiny eyes at the dueling monarch of Egypt. "Persian, use Power Gem on him!"

"RROAR!" Persian fired out a red laser beam directly at the pharaoh.

Yami Yugi yelled and fell to the ground and his life points shrank down to 3300.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Can you feel the irony of this battle?" Giovanni remarked savagely. "That's the same kind of humiliation my ancestor and thief king felt when your old bygones made fools out of them in the Shadow Realm! It's payback for taking lightly of the name Team Rocket."

Ash groaned and held his chest. "What's happened to you, Giovanni?" He inquired. Why are you behaving crueler than usual?"

"Glad you asked me, twerp!" Giovanni smiled deviously. "I am Senator Brutus, the forefather and leader of the first Team Rocket." A spirit of man in a Roman attire appeared briefly in front of his host. "After the traveler defeated me and had my soul sent to the Shadow Realm, I have been trapped within the Ball of the Underworld along with Cerberus'. When the artifact was discovered 5,000 years later, my soul slipped away when Cerberus sent out his minions to carry out his mission to restore his soul.

"I roamed in the modern world for quite some time and found one of my progeny, Giovanni. I'm using my descendant's body to seek revenge on the last bloodline of Cypress."

"Thanks to Cerberus' influence, I've grown stronger and my Persian has quickly leveled up without experience from battle."

Dark red aura revolved around Persian's body as it is pumped up with dark energy.

"Also, he's been asking me to take him spot-to-spot in the Pokémon World." Yami Bakura added. "I've been collecting souls for him in the process while he was hunting you fools down in the virtual dome. Of course there was no need for that now that he's been set free. All we had to do was to get rid of you meddling brats once and for good."

"So Cerberus was been the one pulling the strings." Yami Yugi figured. "Have you realize that Cerberus has tainted your souls with anger and blackness, Brutus?"

"Enough talking!" Giovanni barked. "Let's get back to battling!"

"You mean dueling? This is my game too." Yami Bakura reminded.

"Whatever." Giovanni replied lightheartedly.

"Don't count on winning!" Yami Yugi returned.

"My ancestor defeated yours in the past, and I can defeat you in the present!" Ash added.

"Pika!"

"I don't know about you, Giovanni, but I'm having a bit of a blast!" Yami Bakura said.

"As do I, Bakura!" Giovanni cachinnated.

"HA HA HA HA! AH HA HA HA HA HA!"

With the two heroes were trapped in the Shadow Games and their friends preoccupied with the minions, Cerberus continues on a terror spree, attempting to destroy both worlds as trainer and duelist know it.

Who can stop this unstoppable three-headed titan of destruction? And how will they be able to defeat it? The three legendary Pokémon could only stall Cerberus, but for a limited time.

Only a miracle can defeat the guardian of the Shadow Realm for good...a miracle from both worlds that is.


	28. Worlds Collide-Part Two

**So sorry for the wait, but here you go! Finally, the last chapter! Hope you enjoy this exciting conclusion and the story! ^U^**

**PEACE**

Meanwhile while everyone else got their hands full, a couple of encounters were taking place in several parts of two colliding worlds. A Pokémon trainer named Ritchie (an old friend of Ash) and his comrade Sparky, a Pikachu were fending off black creatures with his evolved Charmeleon Zippo in front of them.

"I don't what these things are, Sparky, but whatever they are, we have to defend to our world!" The young auburn-haired trainer said. "We have to defend the Pokémon."

"Pikachu!"

"Go, Zippo!"

The flaming lizard Pokémon leaped over the shadow creatures.

"Use Ember!" Its trainer commanded.

Zippo spewed severals orange and yellow flames at the shadow hounds. It demolished a few, but five more pounced on the lizard Pokémon.

"Zippo!" Ritchie shouted.

"Pikachu!" Sparky tried to fend off the other swarming hellhounds with Thundershock, but whenever one is eliminated, the other rejuvenates and takes its place.

"There's too many!" Ritchie and his Pokémon were outnumbered by Cerberus' army.

"Pikachu!"

Suddenly, a dice shot from nowhere and struck those dog creatures like ricochet bullet on empty soda cans.

"Huh?" Ritchie turned his head.

It was Yugi's friend, Duke Devlin owner of Clown Game shop and creator of Dudgeon Dice Monsters.

"Nice shot, Mister." Ritchie addressed to the black-haired duelist.

In the following, Zippo used Dig to escape from the assaulting pack and breathed Fire Spin on them while in the air. It landed back in front of its trainer.

"Need a hand, kid?" Duke asked as he activated his duel disk.

"I'm Ritchie."

"Duke Devlin." He placed a monster card into the slot and his favorite monster, Strike Ninja appeared in front of him, next to Zippo.

Together, they took down Cerberus' minions with their dice monster and Pokémon.

At the Cerulean City gym, Misty, a gym leader who used to travel with Ash and Brock fought against the black flying creatures that broke into her gym and tried to attack the water Pokémon in the pool. "Starmie, use Psyshock!" The red-haired Pokémon trainer commanded.

Her purple starfish-like Pokémon launched several physical gems at the dog gargoyles from the pool. Gyrarados released Hyper Beam at the last of the creatures.

"Where did these things come from?" Misty asked.

"Horsea!"

"Psy, ai ai!" Her small yellow duck Pokémon was freaking out and running back and forth.

"Calm down, Payduck!" Misty ordered her Pokémon.

She then heard a female shriek outside her gym.

"What now?" She rushed outside.

Psyduck followed after her.

Misty stepped outside of the doors. She saw a blond woman in purple with a bodacious top and knee-length boots was being surrounded by another swarm of black creatures. One of them clang on to her duel disk, trying to remove her card that displayed a blue and pink female monster while it is in play.

"Let go of my Harpy Lady!" Mai Valentine cried.

"Staryu, use Tackle Attack!" Misty threw her Poké ball and another of her star-shaped Pokémon (except it is golden and has five points.) threw across the air like a shuriken and tackled the menacing the creature off of the chick's duel disk, saving her Harpy Lady. Mai got herself together and placed two more monster cards in the slot. "You know, I could have handle this myself, trainer."

"How about 'thank you'?" Misty mildly returned. "Just because you're duelist, doesn't mean we should let each other die."

"I suppose our differences don't matter right now, right?" The blond voluptuous duelist agreed. "Name's Mai Valentine."

"I'm Misty of the Cerulean Gym." Her Staryu sprayed its Water Gun at the other upcoming enemies.

"My my, Misty. If that's the best your water Pokémon can do, imagine if my Harpy Ladies would have been toast." Mai said.

"You know, Mai, you remind me of my sisters," Misty said. "They have pretty faces but obnoxious personalities."

"Less talking, more battling, hon." Mai said and the two feisty girls carried on against the demons.

Elsewhere, Morrison teamed up with an fisherman duelist named Mako Tsunami and Sakura teamed up with Rebecca Hawkins.

* * *

Back in the Oak Corral, the friends struggled against the swarm of black creatures. Gary and Kaiba strifed against the flying creatures, Joey, Brock, and Tristan fended off the pack from the hellhounds, and Téa and May blown away half of the charging monsters while Professor Oak, Solomon, and Tracey warded off several invaders that tried to break in the research lab.

Mokuba pulled Max out of the way from the battlefield and took refuge behind the lab windmill. "These things just keep on coming!" The small one exclaimed.

"This is getting really out of control!" Joey said. "How many of d'em are there?!"

"There's just too many of them!" Tristan exclaimed.

"We have keeping fighting!" Brock said. "For the fate of our planet!"

"I wish Ash and Yugi were here." May said.

* * *

Back in the Shadow Realm, the villains were getting the best of the heroes in the worsening way. Yami and Ash groaned as they looked completely worn out and been through heck. Apparently, they were having a difficult time against the empowered duo of the sinister villains from both worlds.

"What's the matter? Aren't you blokes enjoying this?" Yami Bakura asked in a taunting voice.

The boys growled in response.

"I place Earl of Demise in attack mode!" Yami Bakura announced as he inserted his monster card in the slot. His creepy ghoulish knight appeared in front of him. It was level 5 and its ATK/DEF is 2000 and 700. "My target is your Dark Magician!"

The fiend swordsman charged forward the purple spellcaster, swinging his sword.

"Pikachu, Use Quick Attack to stop Earl's attack!" Ash quickly ordered.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shot up like a bullet and rammed against Earl of Demise, interrupting the attack phase.

"Pika..." It grunted as it landed on its four paws.

"Thanks, Ash." Yami gratified

"So, are you giving up yet?" Giovanni/Brutus asked.

"No way!" Ash rebutted. "Not in a million years!"

"Well, you might as well would." The ruthless leader of Team Rocket said. "As we speak, Cerberus continues to grow stronger. When he finally reaches to his final form, he will terminate every last creature on the whole planet!"

As he spoke, the legendary beasts currently struggled against Cerberus, holding out his devastating breath attacks with their counterattacks. Entei, Suicune, and Raikou shed beads of sweat as they are unable to hold their breaths and Cerberus excelled them, sending them skidding across the grounds.

At the Oak Corral, the fighting groups were growing tired and are soon outnumbered by swarming creatures.

"Before long, your worlds will fall crumble into ruination at the hands of Cerberus and we will rule all!" Yami Bakura added wickedly.

"If you think that you guys have won, guess again!" Yami Yugi declared. "No matter what it takes, we will defeat you and Cerberus will not succeed."

"Yeah, no matter which world we came, evil will never win!" Ash added. "We're stronger than you know it!"

"It'll take more than bluff talk to get your way out of this one!" Yami Bakura remarked. "But don't worry, the pain and suffering will end before you know it. Ha ha ha ha!"

The heroes groaned and felt a drop of despair within them.

"I hate to say this, Yugi, but it looks like we've met our match." Ash said. "Our opponents are too strong."

"In case we don't get out of this one, I just want to say it's been nice knowing you, Ash." Yami Yugi said.

"Same here."

"Resistance is pointless, my friends." Yami Bakura said. "It's time we end your pathetic struggling once and for all."

The heroes glared and stood their grounds, preparing to fight to their last breath.

But before they could do anything, something out of the ordinary happened. Two large blue eyes opened in the darkness. It was Mew who sensed that the time was right. It waved its tiny arms and performed some magic.

Ash noticed. "Pharaoh, your deck!" He pointed.

"Huh?" Yami looked inside his slot. "What in the worl-"

He was cut in mid sentence when the flash of light expanded, blinding everyone in the Shadow Realm. Everyone exclaimed and shielded their eyes.

"Pika?!" It and Dark Magician covered their eyes, wondering what was going on.

Four card-shaped lights slipped out from the slot and disappeared into the darkness of the Shadow Realm.

"W-wha-what the heck just happened?" Ash stammered, cracking his eye ajar.

"I'm...not sure." Yugi answered.

The villains on the other side groaned and squinted.

"What was that light?" Brutus/Giovanni asked.

* * *

Back at the valley, the invincible Cerberus stomped over the lands, leering down at the beasts who was losing their will to battle on.

"It's no use!" Suicune said. "Cerberus is just to powerful!"

"At this rate, we'll never be able to defeat that monster and our world is destroyed!" Raikou said. "We need a miracle!"

His wish was quickly granted when three lights, the same ones that came from Yami's deck arrived at the valley. Cerberus looked and gawked.

The beasts stared in awe. The shining cards floated in the air for a while and grew into godly shaped monsters, seemingly larger than Cerberus.

The god monsters, Slifer, Obelisk, and Winged Dragon of Ra had finally come to the rescue, in their physical forms.

"Could it be?" Entei blurted out in awe.

"The cavalry is here!" Slifer announced.

"Slifer!" Suicune said.

"Obelisk!"

"It has been a while!" The blue giant said in a booming voice.

"You have arrived to help after all." Entei said. "How did you find us?"

"Sorry we are late, Entei." Ra said. "We were held up by a few circumstances."

"The worlds between Pokémon and Duel Monsters have collided," Obelisk said. "It gave us a chance to help each other defeat the true menace of both worlds." They looked at Cerberus who roared in rage.

* * *

Back in Oak Corral, the people were surrounded by a nearing mob of black creatures with no way out.

"They just keep coming!" Brock said.

"I'm all out of spell cards!" Tristan said.

"Won't somebody help us?" Mokuba pleaded.

Just then, a blue spiral of fire threw from nowhere and vaporized all the circling black creatures

"Huh?" Everyone looked up.

When the flames died down, a large white dragon with blue eyes swooped down on them.

"Lookout, it's a dragon!" Max said.

"My Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Kaiba exclaimed. "It came back to me!"

"But how?" Mokuba asked. "I thought Team Rocket took it."

The huge white dragon hovered over the grass, gazing at the Kaiba brothers.

Mokuba stared at it "It's not holographic at all, Seto." He pointed. "Lookit! It looks so real."

"It's probably just a cheap virtual illusion." Kaiba said.

"Check it my duel disk!" Tristan said as he saw that his own slot was glowing white.

"Mine's glowing too!" Téa said.

Just then, several of their monsters popped put of their duel disk, standing next to their owners.

"What in the world?" Joey gaped, staring at his Flame Swordsman.

"The monsters, they're leaving your cards, without the duel disk." Max said, mystified.

"That's unusual." Téa said.

"That's because I opened up a gateway between our world and the Spirit Monster World." A familiar voice occurred.

"Huh?!" Everyone turned around.

Their old friend, Shadi the Egyptian guardian of the tomb appeared next to them.

"Shadi!"

"Just like Pokémon, spirits of the monsters felt their world in danger,"

"It's amazing! The Pokémon and Duel Monsters are working together to save us!" Tracey said, taking a few sketches.

"You'd be amazed how many trainers and duelists are teaming up and working together." Shadi said. "It's just like 5,000 years ago."

"For one thing, worlds are colliding." Solomon theorized. "Pokémon and Duel Monsters have encountered, not to fight but to defeat the evil monsters that threatened their world 5,000 years ago."

"Please, that is the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard!" Kaiba rolled his eyes in a stubborn tone.

"Either way, I'm totally psyched that our worlds are reuniting and Pokémon and Duel Monsters are going to stop Cerberus!" Max said.

"Let's hope so." Téa said.

* * *

Almost all species of Pokémon stood on the left side of the cliff to oppose Cerberus while the entire population of Duel Monsters hung at the right side, preparing as back up.

The reunited gang of legendary guardians stood in front of the three-headed beast, to take on the final foe.

* * *

"I don't know what you're playing at, but that meek little stunt of yours makes no difference!" Yami Bakura hissed.

"I don't know if that was a trick or not, but whatever it was, I'm sure it was used to spoil your plans!" Yami guessed.

Yami Bakura was getting ticked. "I've had just enough of you!"

"Game over for you, two!" Giovanni/Brutus blared out. "You're taking a one-way ticket to the Shadow Realm. Persian, use-"

"I use Nightmare's Steelcage!" Yami Bakura quickly placed a spell card that entrapped Giovanni and Persian metal clutches, preventing them to move.

"What are you doing, Bakura?" Giovanni demanded.

"I've got this, Giovanni!" Yami Bakura snarled. "Both of these brats are mine!"

"How dare you?!" The shadow possessing Giovanni snarled. "We had a deal a long time ago."

Yami Bakura just cackled.

"What's so funny?" Brutus/Giovanni demanded.

"Obviously, you forgotten who made Cerberus in the first place!" Yami Bakura bickered.

The boys looked at each other and nodded. It was time they made their move.

"I'm dealing with these pests in with my own way, whether you approve it or not!" The white-haired thief snapped.

"Why you ingrate!"

The two villains continued arguing until Mew appeared in the scene. "Mew!"

"What the-" Giovanni blinked as he stared at the pink Pokémon.

"Mew!" The young men exclaimed.

"Not you again, Mew!" Yami Bakura snarled.

"Mew..." Brutus from Giovanni's mind recognized that Pokémon. "Of course, I recognize that Pokémon!"

"So, it was you, Mew!" Ash said.

"You were always perfect timing, Mew." Yami said.

"While you take care of your enemies, the god monsters and beast trio will fight Cerberus for you!" Mew passed in a message through their thoughts before disappearing.

"Awesome!" Ash beamed.

"As for you two, your terrorizing days are about to cone to an end!" Yami Yugi said. "We've figured out how to take you down."

"Glalie, use Blizzard attack!" Ash threw another Poké ball next to Pikachu and when it's out, it released a snowstorm on the battlefield.

"I play Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!" Yami declared as he summoned the female spellcaster in the field. "Help spread the ice to terminate Bakura's trap cards!"

The lovely blond sorceress obeyed and conducted most of Glalie's ice crystals and bombed them on their opponent's field. Persian was trapped within ice and all the trap cards were eliminated in the Blizzard storm by Dark.

"No! This can't be!" Giovanni/Brutus groveled in pain and horror.

"This wasn't supposed to end like this!" Yami Bakura bawled. "How did it come thst you fools are friends?"

"We may be from different worlds, and yes, we don't always agree on stuff," Yami Yugi stated. "But I know that Ash and I are on the same page!"

"We realize that we can combine our monsters' powers together!"

The foursome of their monsters got together as they prepared for the final assault.

"Looks like your hour is up!" Ash declared

"End of the line for you two!" Yami hollered.

The villains stood petrified, vulnerable to an open attack"

"Dark Magician-"

"Glalie-"

"Dark Magician Girl-"

"And Pikachu!"

"DARK ICE MAGIC THUNDER ATTACK!" The boys hollered in unison.

Simultaneously, Pikachu, Dark Magician, Glalie, and Dark Magician Girl, released their attack, ending the battle/duel.

"NOOOOO!" The villains hollered as they received the finishing move.

Bakura's monsters were shattered in the ice, thunder, and mana blasts.

Persian screeched as it was blown away and fainted.

"BLAST! CURSE YOU, PHARAOH!" The thief spirit screamed as he lost all of his lifepoints.

"NOT AGAIN!" Giovanni/Brutus roared. The shadow ejected from the Team Rocket leader's body and evaporated.

* * *

Back at the valley, the legendary beasts and god monsters confronted the indomitable canine tyrant. Raikou fired a Thunder attack against the head of Deviousness which fazed it a little, resulting an electrical paralysis which traveled over his body, immobilizing his limbs.

"Perfect, you stunned it, Raikou!" Slifer said. "Now it's my turn!" He wrapped his red long snaky tail around the stunned three-headed titan's body, tightening it. Cerberus growled as it writhed its strong body in the coils.

"I got him!" Obelisk The Tormenter rose up and locked his blue arms around Cerberus' two heads, Anger and Sorrow, further immobilizing the beast and preventing it from using any more devastating attacks. "You cannot resist us anymore!"

Cerberus roared irately and tried in vain to break off from the god monsters' clutches.

"You are trapped, Cerberus!" Ra avouched. "There is no hope for you to escape!"

"Now is the chance!" Raikou announced. "Everybody, Pokémon and Duel Monsters reunited!"

The Pokémon crowd on the left rose up and raised their powers, combining them all into one incredible mystic force that rose up high in the sky. The Duel Monsters on the left flew up and added their attack points into the light beam that created a pea-sized black dot appeared in the dark red sky and grew into an oversized dimensional hole that opened up in the heavens.

Thanks to the union of mystical powers from Duel monster spirits and Pokémon, the gate to the Shadow Realm has been opened and the god warriors can throw Cerberus into the gravity beam that pulled him up and carried him up into that black hole that swallowed him up, never to be seen.

The Pokémon and Duel Monsters spirits cheered and celebrated of the great monster's presumed demise. But the god monsters and beast trio weren't exactly sure.

* * *

The Shadow Game was over. The realm of darkness filling up the cabin dissolved completely. Yami Yugi and Ash sighed heavily.

"Pika!"

Bakura, liberated from the spirit's control collapsed on the cabin floor, groaning.

He picked up the Millennium Ring from Bakura. "I'll be taking this out of his hand now."

"Looks like things are back to normal, hopefully." Ash presumed.

"Pika..."

"Not normal, Ash." Yami Yugi pointed out as he picked up Bakura on his shoulders. "Look there." He narrowed his eyes on something.

"Huh?" Ash and turned his head around.

Standing over the downed man was a glowing spirit of a fallen trainer from ancient Rome with his Persian on his side.

"It's Brutus, from 5,000 years ago." Yami Yugi said.

"Pika?"

"You have saved us, my friends," Brutus' soul said.

Ash, Pikachu, and Yami stared at him in bewilderment. "Huh?"

"When Persian and I were banished to the Shadow Realm, our souls were tainted by the shadows of the Shadow Realm, corrupted by hatred and vengeance."

"But when you defeated me for the second time, you liberated the darkness that was infecting my soul and purified my Persian's soul too."

Ancient Persian purred and nodded.

"I thank you, Ash Ketchum. Thank you, Pharaoh Yami."

"It was nothing." Ash answered, scratched his head modestly.

"You're welcome." Yami Yugi added.

"I also must thank your ancestor Cypress for teaching me how to see the world differently," Brutus continued as his ethereal form began to fade. "Good luck, brave warriors, and farewell." The spirit of the ancient Pokémon dictator and his Pokémon hovered backwards away from the cabin room and vanished completely in the air. Brutus and Persian had pass to the afterlife where they can finally rest in peace.

"That's totally wicked." Ash said.

"Pikachu."

Giovanni groaned as he slightly stirred from unconsciousness. His Persian approached its master's side and brushed its head against him, nursing him. It shifted its small red eyes towards the boys and purred.

"It must be saying thank you for saving its master," Yami Yugi translated. "Thank

"Pikachu." Translation: "You're welcome."

Ash folded his arms. "Guess that means the worst is over, right?"

"Don't relax just yet. It is over yet," a familiar voice told behind them.

"Huh?" The boys turned around, seeing an Egyptian man in a white tunic and turban standing right behind them.

"Shadi!" Yami Yugi stated.

"Pikachu!"

"Do you always have to appear out of nowhere?" Ash asked.

"You may have defeated your enemies, but the world is still in danger." Shadi pointed out.

"Huh?" The boys cocked their heads in confusion.

"Take a look for yourselves." Shadi signaled them to the loading ramp.

The boys looked outside the helicopter. There up in the sky is a black hole which the god monsters had created earlier to banish Cerberus there.

"What's that hole up there?" Ash asked.

"Pika."

"Cerberus is up there in the Shadow Realm." Shadi answered. "He is still a threat to both worlds and will continue executing all living things, including Pokémon and Duel Monsters."

"What? But I thought Entei, Ra, and the others took care of him." Ash said.

"Cerberus is the three-headed guardian of the Shadow Realm. He has regained from his fallen soldiers your friends defeated." Shadi explained. "You will now have to battle him. He cannot be sealed away from the second time now that the Ball of the Underworld is destroyed and there are no magicians left to create another one."

"So how do we stop him then?" Ash asked.

"The last and only thing to do is to destroy Cerberus for good." Shadi resolved. "I know won't be easy, but worry not, my young friends. You will not be alone. You will have friends aiding you on your battle. They are closer than you think.

"And you will have your comrades by your side." Shadi added one more thing.

Ash and Yugi could feel the spirits of their ancient incarnates within them, Cypress and the pharaoh.

"Pika!" Pikachu can also see the spirit of his past double in front of him.

"Pika."

The three legendary beasts, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune arrived inside the cabin, offering to help.

"There isn't much time," Shadi put in. "You must go and defeat Cerberus."

The two boys nodded in determination.

"Don't you worry, Shadi." the pharaoh assured. "You can be sure that we will rid the world of Cerberus, now and forever!"

"Take us there, Entei." Ash requested as he and Yami Yugi climbed on Entei's back.

The legendary volcano Pokémon nodded his head in consent and carried the brave duo off to the black portal hole in the sky...where the final battle awaits them in the Shadow Realm.

"Raikou, take Bakura to safety," Shadi addressed the lightning Pokémon, carrying the unconscious Bakura in his arms.

Raikou biddably forklifted up the white-haired boy with his head and carried him on his shoulders, on his way back to Oak Corral.

Entei carrying Ash, Yami Yugi, Pikachu traveled through the funnel of the Shadow Realm until they finally reached the main domain where they came face-to-face with the three-headed guardian whose fur has changed color. Black purple fur, red muzzle, nails, and belly, and multi-colored eyes. Ash, Yami, and Pikachu stared in awe.

Cerberus was now standing on his hind legs and stood up tall. He pulled his lips back and growled in aggravation.

"It looks like he's reached his full power." Yami Yugi said in perspective. "What Shadi had said is true.

"Cerberus, it's time we settle the score!" Ash bravely declared. "Time to make pay for what you done!"

"Pikachu!"

"You have caused everyone so much misery since the very beginning." Yami Yugi said. "You've been putting all our friends and loved ones in danger. But no more, Ash and I will to put you in your place, now and forever!"

The three Egyptian god cards, Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra enlightened in his hands.

"We defeated you not once, but two times already." Ash put in. With a fierce determined glare, he added, "and this time, we'll make sure you'll never come back!"

"PIKA!"

The middle head Devious displayed a fanged grin and chortled depravedly. The two heads' eyes gleamed sinisterly and casted some kind of immobilizing curse upon the legendary fire beast. Entei felt as if his body had lost contact with his brain and could not move his limbs at all.

"Entei?" Ash asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Pika?"

Entei groaned in distress and could not move its limbs.

"Cerberus must have did something to Entei!" Yami Yugi said.

Cerberus laughed wickedly as saying it is true. It leered evilly and shadowed over the vulnerable heroes.

With the Pokémon guardian immobilized and helpless, Cerberus reached down his black hands at the human heroes and grasped them both. Ash and Yami yelled as they are now trapped the beasts's clutches.

"NO!" Entei shouted.

"Pika!" It cried and tried to Thundershock the hideous beast in the face which did no affect.

Cerberus grasped tight of the heroes in each hand, the pharaoh in his right hand and Ash in the left.

"**AT LAST, I'VE BEEN WAITING TO HAVE MY REVENGE ON YOU, NAMELESS PHARAOH AND POKÉMON TRAVELER!**" The three-headed giant grinned malevolently at his prisoners. "**NOBODY CAN SAVE YOU NOW!**"

"Pikachu!"

"Get out of here, Pikachu!" Ash urged. "Save yourself!"

"PIKA!" It refused to leave its partners.

"There's...not much time!" Yami groaned.

"We got to get away!" Yugi's spirit cried.

"Pika!"

Entei growled and effortfully tried to break free of Cerberus' immobilizing curse.

Just when Cerberus was about to take bites of his victims, a pink mystical flying kitten-like Pokémon floated in front of the three heads. "Mew, Mew!"

"**DO NOT INTERFERE WITH ME, MEW!**" The three-head giant snarled. "**YOU'LL BE MY NEXT COURSE ONCE I DISPOSE THES FOOLS!**"

"Mew Mew Mew!" It frowned and refused to back down.

At the same time, Yami's deck and Ash's Poké balls were suddenly glowing and shifting in their slots/belt.

"Huh?" The boys gawked at them.

"Pika?"

Ash's Pokémon, Grovyle, Phanpy, Swellow, Glalie, and Torkal emerged from their balls and appeared in front of him, aligning as a wall.

"My Pokémon?"

"Grov-yle!"

"Phanpy, Phan!"

"Sweell!"

"Glalie!"

"Tor-kal!"

They looked back at their trainer, as if saying they will protect him at any cost.

"Pika, Pika!" It stood on its trainer's shoulder, vowing that it will stay by his side, no matter how ugly things are.

"Pikachu." Ash murmured.

Yami Yugi's faithful monster, the Dark Magician materialized from the card and appeared physically next him, carrying his staff.

"Dark Magician?"

"I will protect you, my pharaoh!" The purple spellcaster avowed. "I will stay with you until the very end."

"As we will!" His student, Dark Magician Girl appeared next to him.

The pharaoh's other loyal monsters, Big Shield Gardna, Berformet, Kuriboh, Gamma and Celtic Guardian.

"My monsters!" Yami Yugi said.

"Remember that your friends are closer than you think!" Shadi's voice reminded the heroes.

"Mew! Mew!" It floated over Cerberus, trying to stall him.

From far apart in Cerberus' clutches, Yami and Ash looked at each other and nodded.

Using the power of the Millennium Puzzle, the boys concentrated very deeply in attempt to contact their friends outside the Shadow Realm. "My friends, I don't know if anybody could hear us, but please!" Yugi's thoughts literally echoed throughout the dimensions.

Outside in the real world, the group were celebrating after the fray against Cerberus' army. May felt an urgent telepathic message rushed to her head.

"_Please! We need your help!_" Yugi's voice cried.

"Huh?" May blinked with confusion.

"What's the matter, May?" Téa asked.

"I know you'll probably think I'm nuts, but I could have sworn I just heard Yugi." The small twin-haired girl answered.

"You did?" Téa asked.

"_Everyone, Cerberus is still alive! He won't go away unless you lend us your hand!_" Ash's voice called out.

"Come to think of it, I thought I heard Ash too." Téa heard it.

"Whatcha talking about, girls?" Joey asked.

"Ash and Yugi are in trouble," Téa informed.

"Huh?" The boys looked with confusion.

"I'm not sure I follow you, girls." Professor Oak cocked his eyes in confusion.

"Your friends are still trapped in the Shadow Realm." Shadi reappeared in the middle of the field.

The group stared. "It's Shadi!"

"Ash and Yugi got only one shot left," the guardian of the tombs explained. "All of you gather your Pokémon and Duel Monsters here in this spot so that I may. You must hurry, Ash and Yugi cannot last much longer."

As instructed, the group herded their Pokémon and Duel Monsters, including Blue Eyes White Dragon and they all assembled in front of Shadi, waiting to be transported to a new dimension. The Millennium Scale weighed the cargo between the Pokémon and Duel Monsters, only to have the left tray lowering down that the right tray.

"No good. The Millennium Scale needs to be evenly balanced or I cannot send those monsters to the Shadow Realm." Shadi said.

"We need one more trainer or duelist." Téa said.

"But there aren't any others. We're all that's left." Max said.

Just then Bakura riding on Raikou arrived shortly in the Oak Corral and rejoined the group. Joey and the others noticed. "Hey, Bakura. What happened to ya?" Joey asked.

"Long story. But I can help you now that I'm free from the evil spirit's control." The British boy explained as he joined in the circle. (Raikou took off afterwards in the process.) He activated his duel disk and bought out almost all his monsters to the field.

Now that the dishes of Millennium Scale is evenly balance, the Pokémon and Duel Monsters are being transported by the mystic item's magic, on their way to the Shadow Realm.

Ash's Pokémon and Yugi's monsters remained guarding their owners, warding them from Cerberus' hungry smiles.

Cerberus growled as the three heads were growing intolerant. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF OF ALL OF YOU! TIME TO DIE!"

"Mew Mew Mew!"

Just then, a huge beam of light came showering from the roof of the Shadow Realm, right over the three-headed beast. Alarmed, Cerberus barely had time defended himself from the light, losing grip of his prisoners.

Floating in the air, Ash and Yami looked around themselves, wondering what just happened. Their friends' Pokemon and Duel Monsters emerged from the light, reuniting with the good guys' Pokémon and Duel Monsters.

"Where did you guys come from?" Ash asked.

Yami recognized some of the Pokémon and Duel Monsters. "Is that Brock's Steelix?"

"And Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

"Pikachu?" It looked at the Pokémon in question.

"Our friends have heard you messages," Dark Magician pointed it. "They sent their Pokémon and Monsters to aid us in battle, thanks to Shadi."

"Pika."

The boys looked ecstatic. "Our friends sent their Pokémon and Monsters to us?" Ash said.

"We'll all fight with you." Suicune's voice said.

Ash and Pikachu were reunited by the presence of three legendary Pokémon while the pharaoh is accompanied by his Egyptian monsters. "Entei, Suicune, and Raikou."

"Slifer, Ra, and Obelisk."

"Mew Mew Mew!"

Altogether, the Egyptian god monsters, beast trio, and the rest shone bright white. Every single used their special abilities to create something...amazing. Ash and Yami Yugi stared in awe.

All of the Pokémon and Duel Monsters have disappeared afterwards. They left behind two golden tools appeared between the heroes, one appeared to be some kind of duel disk and a rare ancient Poké ball.

"Pikachu?"

Yami grabbed the mystic tool and it was inserted on his forearm. "A duel disk. It looks as if it came from 5,000 years from now."

"Those were the special tools the pharaoh and traveler used to defeat Cerberus 5,000 ago before they locked him away in the Ball of the Underworld." Shadi's voice explained. "With the powers of both worlds, you can use them to destroy Cerberus once and for all."

The nameless pharaoh and the brave Pokémon trainer held their golden mystic hands, feeling the powers of their ancestors.

"You ready, Ash?" Yami Yugi asked.

"Ready when you are, Yugi!" Ash replied bravely.

"Pikachu!"

"_The fate of your worlds rests in your hands,_" Shadi said.

Brock, Joey, May, and the rest of the group each gave their friends encouragement through thought. "_You can do this, guys._" Joey said.

"_Take him down,_" Brock encouraged.

"_We know you got this,_" Tristan added.

"_Give everything you got,_" Tracey added.

"_We're right behind you, Ash and Yugi._" Bakura added.

"_We believe in you, Ash and Yugi,_" Max added.

"_Get him, guys._" Mokuba added.

"_Win for us, Yugi._" May said.

"_Be strong, guys._" Téa added.

"_Don't give in, Ash._" Gary added.

"_Be sure to come back alive._" Kaiba said. "_Don't forget we still got a score to settle, Muto._"

"_Remember to have faith in yourselves_," Professor Oak advised.

"_Don't be afraid to use your full power,_" Solomon added.

"_But be very careful and come back safely,_" Delia added.

"_Mime, Mime._"

The heroes received those messages and got their strengths and courage rejuvenated, ready to battle.

"MEW MEW MEW!" The pink Pokémon declared, saying now is their chance!

By the powers of Mew's pink magic and the spectacular mana energy of their golden Poké ball and duel disk, the heroes' appearances magically modified into something different yet quite familiar.

Yami Yugi's skin hued from light peach to brown tan. His school uniform morphed into an Egyptian royal clothing, golden bangles, earrings, and last but not least his blue jacket transformed into his long purple cape. Ash's Hoenn attire entirely transformed into a combination of beige trousers, sheepskin boots, tunic, chlamys, woven fingerless gloves, and of course a turban.

Cerberus opened his six eyes and gawked at the shining heroes. "Gruh?!" To his horror, that puny trainer and the dueling mortal had transformed into those same heroes that locked him away into that Ball of the Underworld and nearly destroyed his soul. Ash has become Cypress the Pokémon traveler and the pharaoh has transformed into his past self when he was ruler of Egypt! The memories extracted from Mew came back to them. They came back from the Memory World to help their incarnates!

"Time has run out for you, Cerberus!" The nameless pharaoh declared.

"Mew saved us so we can destroy you, and this time we'll make sure you don't come back!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped onto Cypress' shoulder as it too transformed into its ancestor that traveled with its human comrade.

In desperate rage, Cerberus charged blindly at the heroes at full assault. The three heads all inhaled three elements of vaporizing energy and expelled them all on upon the heroes.

Pharaoh Yami and Cypress remained calm. They wielded their empowered tools and a barrier of golden magical aura enveloped them, protecting them from the fatal triazines of Cerberus' breath.

Cerberus stared in wonder.

The pharaoh and Cypress glared determinedly at the stunned monster. The golden barrier protecting them shifted and transfigured into a shape of a large golden phoenix.

It was fusion of Ra's power and Ho-Oh's flaming feathers, full-powered and ready to take on evil once and forever.

"IT'S OVER, CERBERUS!" The heroes yelled and and unleashed the final attack at the beast of terror. The golden phoenix screeched and soar-attacked across the three-headed beast, burning it with its fiery feathers.

It pierced the beast right through its torso, striking at its vital core. Cerberus roared deafeningly in agony. Its body began to "crackle" and the blazing rays of light expelled from within. The outer layer of his black fur, mane, and torso chipped and peeled off his body like old paint. "RRRROOOOAAAARRR!"

"Pika!" He and his human comrades watched with anticipation and caution.

At first, the golden emblazing monster was still standing and attempted to kill the heroes with whatever is left of its dying strength. Pharaoh Yami and Cypress expressed in fear and alarm. How could it still be alive after receiving the divine and purifying attack from the holy gods?

Cerberus froze in its tracks as Ho-oh and Flaming Phoenix of Ra's golden power took its course. At last, Cerberus the three-headed guardian of the Shadow Realm was no more and it completely vaporized into dust.

The young males lit up and gasped in awe. The darkness in the ambience lifted and they were pulled out of the Shadow Realm. The background was replaced with mixture of colors of gold, orange and light hues of sparkling glitter. "Pika?"

The glittering background then switched into a new scenery surrounded by burning gold sand, dunes, and an orange red cloudless sky. Their feet touched the ground and stood for the first time.

"Is it over?" Cypress spoke up. "Do you think Cerberus is gone?"

"He must be. It should be over." The tanned pharaoh answered. "I think both of our worlds are saved from that menacing evil."

"Pika."

They examined their surrounding and noticed a couple of pyramids.

"Hey look, we're back in Egypt." Cypress said in observance.

"Pika." He perched his trainer's shoulder, gazing the view.

"So it seems," the pharaoh said. "This must be after we defeated Cerberus..." He looked at his small friend. "...and when our memories had to be erased."

"Hmm..."

"Pika..."

"But this time, you two can spend the last two minutes together, reminiscing this day." A female voice occured.

The boys looked up. The three legendary beasts stood on the tall rocks over them.

"Hey, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou!" Cypress said.

Behind them are the spirit of the three deities of Egypt.

"Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra!" The pharaoh said. "Thank you so much for your help."

"You two can make this memory count." Ra said.

The two heroes looked at each other and decided to take one last took a stroll together down the scorching Egyptian desert, viewing at a couple of pyramids.

"Pikachu!" The ancient world mouse Pokémon merrily skedaddled on the golden sand ahead of its human allies.

"We've been through a lot together, haven't we, Pharaoh?" Cypress started a conversation. "After all the battles and all the wars, I'd say this has been one heck of a adventure."

"Yes, I must admit our first meeting didn't go so well." Pharaoh Yami started. "Remember we started out fighting, trying to prove which of our monsters were stronger?"

"Yeah, I at first thought you were some kind of showoff, bigheaded dueling prince." Cypress chuckled.

"And I saw you as an arrogant stubborn Pokémon brat." The pharaoh coincided. "But in the end, we both found out that we were on the same page."

"We both got dreams and possess a lot of skill!"

"Pikachu!" Ancient Pikachu added.

They viewed the Nile River which stretched over the sunbaked horizon. "I guess this is the boundary line that separates the Pokémon and Duel Monster world." Cypress presumed.

"Even so, our worlds are united as one." The pharaoh said. "Our monsters may be different from each other, but I believe that Pokémon and Duel Monsters are equal and are our friends in every way."

"That is true." Cypress sat down on the river bank, indian crossed.

The two sat and relaxed on the bank for a bit, watching the sun sink in the Nile River. The water sparkled under the horizon light.

"Pikachu." It jumped from Cypress' head and perched on the pharaoh's lap.

Pharaoh Yami smiled and brushed his hand over Pikachu's head.

The boys stood up, realizing that they must part ways, continue on with their own lives.

"I must go back to Egypt now." The young pharaoh said. "My people are anxious if I'm alive or got sucked into another dimension with Cerberus."

"Now that you mentioned it, Pikachu and I have to continue on our journey. I've still got a lot of Pokémon to capture before becoming a Pokémon master." Cypress agreed, brown eyes glistening in the sunlight. "Why don't you come with us on our journey, Pharaoh?" He invited. "We can travel the whole world together and you can become a Pokémon master yourself."

"Pi Pi Pi."

"That's a very nice offer, Cypress. But I'm afraid cannot." The pharaoh answered, purple eyes sparkling also. "My people need me and I belong in the dueling world. We both have dreams to follow, and we must stay true to our destinies."

Cypress' eyes glistened in fondness. "Yeah, I understand. You are the King of Games after all."

"Besides, even though we're from different worlds, you and I are the same." The pharaoh looked down at the young boy warmly.

Cypress smiled. "I hope that when the time comes, we'll see each other again in the other side."

"Pikachu!"

"Of course we will, my friend."

The two shook hands of friendship, saying farewell.

"Good luck, pharaoh. Thanks for everything."

"Farewell, Cypress."

And so, the memory scene ended, Cypress and Pikachu were gone and the background of Egypt faded.

**Sorry, I know this ****was supposed to be the last chapter, but since it's so long, I decided to break it diwn to the last chapter.**


	29. A Happy Ending

**Happy Fourth of July! Here is the LAST chapter!**

**PEACE**

When everything returned to normal, heroic duo's appearances reverted to their original features. Yami Yugi's suntanned skin hued back to peach and his Egyptian attire was replaced by his modern school clothes and Cypress descendant Ash Ketchum was back in his Hoenn style as well. They were back in the real world. They are now standing in a valley, on field of grass and flowers.

The war was over. the great evil Cerberus was defeated. The two worlds of Pokémon and Duel Monsters were saved, thanks to the brave heroes, Ash Ketchum, Yugi Muto, the pharaoh, and of course, Cypress and his Pikachu.

"Thank you, Cypress." Ash looked up and thanked his ancestor. "Thank you for helping us."

"Pi Pikachu!" It also thanked its ancestor.

Yugi Muto, who had switched with the pharaoh, turned to the mountains behind them. "Thank you, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou." He gratified. "We couldn't have saved the world without your help, guys."

The three legendary beasts nodded their heads in respect and left, departing in separate ways.

Exhausted, the two boys collapsed onto the soft grass. "Phew! I'm glad that's all over!" Ash said as he laid back down.

"Pikachu!" It too jumped on its bottom, next to Ash.

"My god cards are safely back in my hands!" Yugi said, looking at his three recovered god cards. "I'll be sure that they'll never fall into the wrong hands again." He obligately put those cards in his jacket where they'll be more secured and this time, out of anyone's reach.

"You know, you were pretty great at handling Pokémon, Yugi." Ash credited.

"And you were pretty skilled at dueling monsters, Ash." The spiky haired teen said. "It's incredible how we find out what we can do, especially after all turmoil and frictions we went through."

Ash placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I think it was all worth it. We wrote our own epic tale that can be told generation to generation."

The boys smiled as they each other held their own tools, Ash looked his Poké balls attached on his belt and Yugi checked his deck in his belt pouch and rubbed his duel disk.

"Pikachu." It perked its ears up and down.

The boys smiled at each other when they heard a bunch of voices calling their names. "Ash! Yugi!"

"Huh?" The boys looked around in response of those sounds.

"Pika?"

"Ash! Yugi!"

The boys stood up and saw a group of people coming into view uphill. Ash and Yugi lit up with joy as they recognized their loved ones. "Hey, guys!" Ash waved.

"Yugi!" Joey, Téa, and Tristan called in unison.

"Ash!" Brock, May, and Max called. Professor Oak, Solomon, Delia, Tracey, Gary, Mokuba, and Kaiba followed behind them.

"Hey, you guys!" Yugi grinned and waved his both arms.

"Pikachu!"

Ash and Yugi were finally reunited with their friends and loved ones.

"My Ash!" Delia squealed and seized her son in a squeezing hug.

"Oh, Mom!" Ash smiled through his mother's arms.

"Grandpa!" Yugi cheered and jumped on his grandfather, wrapping his arms and legs around him.

"That's my grandson!" Solomon chuckled.

The rest of the friends gathered round to salute their leaders. May and Tèa hugged their male friends tightly in joy. Bakura and Tracey smiled placed each other's arms over their shoulders. Professor Oak, Solomon, and Delia were extremely proud of their young ones. Brock, Joey, and Tristan grinned and gave them thumbs up while Max (who jumped up and down) and Mokuba praised with ecstasy. Gary and Kaiba just stood there, looking slightly proud.

"I can't believe you guys defeated Cerberus!" Brock said.

"You guys are awesome!" Max added.

"We're so proud of you guys!" Téa said.

"I bet Team Rocket won't be bothering you guys for a while." Joey said.

"So what happened with Team Rocket afterwards?" Tristan asked. "Give us the details."

"Believe me, it's a long story." Ash simply answered.

"Pika, Pika."

"It's a epic full of excitement, thrills, and tension that not even the brilliant historians could put it in their books." Yugi added.

"That's for sure," Solomon chuckled.

Everybody laughed.

Ash and Yugi paused and looked and saw that valley was overran by dozens of trainers and duelists together who lauded them as heroes. The boys beamed and waved back to the populace. Among them was Maximilian Pegasus.

"Pika Pika!"

"You saved more than just the world, you bought duelists and trainers together," Pegasus stated. "Heroes like you should be rewarded." He thought carefully. "Let me think...how should you boys be rewarded?"

The kids listened with curiosity.

"Hmm?" The group looked at the white-haired man with mystery.

"Come with me. I've got a surprise for you." Pegasus added with a wink.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kaiba said.

"Where do you think he's going to take us?" Max said.

"Guess, we'll have to find out." Yugi said.

At the next scene, Ash, Yugi, Pikachu, and co. were standing in front of a pair of closed gates at some theme park.

"Okay, what exactly are we looking at?" Téa asked.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Poke-Oh!" Pegasus presented. "Opened to both worlds! Duelists and trainers welcome!" He cut the red ribbon, officially opening up the new park.

Everyone praised excitedly and started rushing into the park, trampling on the guards.

Ash, Yugi, and co. looked at each other and grinned. Even Kaiba and Gary looked slightly amused and smirked.

And so, Pokemon gang and card-dueling team decided to reward themselves by attending the biggest and probably most funnest amusement park of both worlds, for both trainers and duelists, and for Pokémon and Duel Monsters.

Each pair of characters went together on the rides. Ash, Yugi (who were in front row) Brock, Joey, Tracey, and Tristan rode the Blue Eyes Dragon roller coaster. They screamed loudly like girls as the coaster zoomed up and down and from loop-to-loop at lightning speed. A photo finish captured their expressions and and faces.

There was also a Hoppip ferris where each car carried two people such as Téa and Tracey, Tristan and Delia, and May and Kaiba.

There were other parts of the park where Pokémon dropped off by their trainers can hang out.

There were even spots where holographic monsters appear fully in reality and they could interact with people and have friendly duels with the others monsters and duelists.

The girls Tèa, May, Mai, Misty, Rebecca Hawkins, and Casey wore cute and pretty bikinis in a water park area.

In the Tunnel of Love, lots of paired trainers and duelists rode on Dewgong shaped boats. Misty, in her boat, was enjoying the pool of water Pokémon when she was encountered by Mako Tsunami, the fisherman duelist who offered her a water lotus as flirtation. Of course, Misty preferred battling.

The Team Rocket duelists, Billy and Kidd also arrived at the park, but this time they're not here to make trouble. Yugi and Ash noticed them and, seeing that they are no threat anymore, invited them over to games. Billy and Kidd looked at each other and thought what the heck.

In the sparring zone, Mossdeep City gym leader twins Tate and Liza faced off against the Paradox Brothers in a battle-duel while on the other ring, the Ishtar siblings, Odion, Ishizu, and Marik faced off against the other trio of gym leaders Wattson, Flannery, and Brawly.

Professor Oak and Solomon participated in a bunch of game booths and, with their knowledge of Pokémon and experience with games, had a blast winning them, figuring out riddles, and guessing correctly of heavy Pokémon's weights.

Téa and May danced on the floor room, when their male rivals, Drew and Johnny Steps encountered and challenged them. The female duo clapped hands in teamwork and think it's time to settle the score with the, once and for all.

Joey, Tristan, Munchlax, and Brock competed in a eating contest. Joey won while his opponents fell down with stomachaches, even the food-eating Pokémon. Tracey and Bakura did some sketching on some of the Duel Monsters and Pokémon.

At the photo booth, Solomon and Delia decided to take pictures. They posed in casual, cute, and silly ways. In the the next photo shot, Solomon unwittingly held his supposed-to-be-just-buddy's around the waist. Embarrassed, Delia jabbed the old man in the gut by her elbow.

Max and Mokuba walked around the amusement park together. They visited a haunted house which was filled with cheap scary props, flying "ghost" blankets, and plain old monsters holograms that the boys just walked through them. Max and Mokuba grew bored from seeing the same old predicable haunted house ride. When they stepped into a cemetery, they were encountered by a horde of zombies, ghouls, and walking skeletons. At first, Mokuba and Max thought the monsters were just robots attempting to scare the attenders...until zombies and ghouls moved closer and reached out their bony and rotting hands towards them.

The boys, realizing they are real, exclaimed in fright and fled out of the haunted house.

The "real" zombies turned out to be actual Duel Monsters which were controlled by Bonz, Zyger, and Sid snickered at their dirty trick, but the tables turned on them when they were frightened by the ghost trio, Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar, owned by Agatha of the Elite Four.

Espa Roba the psychic duelist got acquainted with Winona the Fortree City gym leader. She let his younger identical brothers ride on her Skymory.

At the food court, Brock was flirting with Serenity Wheeler, much to Joey and Tristan's displeasure. Then Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy walked by and the boys went goo-goo eyes and fluttered after them which made Brock jealous now.

There was also a playground where Pokémon and Duel Monsters can spar at each other in a friendly completion or even hang around. Baby Dragon chased over Charmander, Mudkip, Squirtle, and Lotad. Thunder Kid bonded with Elekid. Skitty played with Marshmallon, and Clefairy played with Happy Lover.

Pikachu and Kuriboh were playing leapfrog when they heard pop rock music warming up.

"Pi?"

"Boh?"

They turned and found their owners Ash and Yugi stood at the Karaoke stage, starting their duet. "_Til' the end, I will be with you!_" Everybody around the platform, starting moving and clapping to the beat. Joey and Tristan posed as backup dancers behind their friends on stage, along with a line of Cleffa and Igglybuff. "_We will go where our dreams come true! All the times we've been through, you will always be my best friends!_"

Ash started. "_Here we are, on a new adventure, danger lurks somewhere in the darkness!_"

"_We are set for surprises, even battles_!" Yugi sang next. "_We're a team, no one better mess with us!_"

"_If we stand as one, there's nothing to fear! We'll beat the darkness and we'll stay right here!_" Ash continued.

Mokuba was also present there, shaking his tambourine while Kaiba stood with his arms folded, not caring. Though he secretly drummed his fingers in rhythm.

"_Spend time after time, that's how it'll be!_"

"_Just you and me!_" The boys chorused together.

Everyone took turns next singing a verse on stage. "_Til' the end, I will be with you!_" Brock sang.

"_We will go where our dreams come true!_" Joey sang his spotlight next.

"_All the times that we have been through_!" May took a chance.

"_You will always be my best...friends!_" Pegasus sang in falsetto. "_Oooooohhhh! My Deeeeaaaar B-e-e-e-est Frii-eends to the eeeend!_" He sang like an opera singer.

Now Pikachu and Kuriboh get a chance to sing on stage. "_Pi Pi Pi Pika, Pikachu!_" It vocalized through the mike. "_Chu Chu Chu!_"

Kuriboh chittered along through the speaker.

"It's your turn, Pharaoh!" Yugi persuaded. "Why don't you take from here?"

"What?" The pharaoh appeared from the Millennium Puzzle.

"Yeah," Ash smirked. "I'd like to see you sing."

"Pika Pika!"

Yami has been forced on stage in front of the audience who chanted "Yugi!".

"Don't worry, Pharaoh. I'll help with the words!" Ash said and took a deep breath.

Yami smirked and swipe-tripped his duet partner of his feet, preventing him from singing his line. "Wha!" Ash yelped as he fell down. He sat up, looking confused. "Hey!"

"_I will rise up like the new moon,_" the stage-hogging pharaoh alternated the lyrics. "_My name will shine like the sparkles in the blue lagoon. Someday, I will find my way home, but until then I shall feel like, JUST LIKE HOME._" Yami sang the last lines in front of the girls, May, Tèa, Casey, and Rebecca who swooned lovingly.

After finishing his debut, Yami's spirit retreated back to the Millennium Puzzle. Ash and Yugi looked at each other and chuckled. Jigglypuff, the singing Pokémon appeared on stag in front of the boys. Ash and Yugi freaked out. The pink Pokemon sang one line and the boys went out like lights. As usual, Jigglypuff puffed up in anger and drew silly squiggles on both of their sleeping faces.

A few seconds later, Pikachu woke them up by using Thundershock on the boys.

Aroused, Ash and Yugi jumped off stage, having to be carried by the crowd trainers and duelists. "Pika Pika!" He and Kuriboh are also carried off by the fans.

The crowd gently put the boys down and Ash and Yugi walked among the crowd who cleared a path for them. Ash, Yugi, Pikachu, and Kuriboh were shortly joined by their friends. Brock, Joey, Tristan, May, Téa, Max, Mokuba, Bakura, Tracey, Professor Oak, Solomon, Gary, and Kaiba jubilantly strode side-by-side, savoring their last day together. Thereafter, they would have to return to their worlds and continue their lives.

Colorful fireworks boomed into the sky, shaping colorful outlines of Pokémon and Duel Monsters. In the end, Mew was last seen flying in the sparkling sky, knowing that the world is at peace once again. "Mew!" It meowed and winked in blessing and took off somewhere in the usual unknown.

* * *

Soon everything was back to normal. The trainers returned to their world and the duelists went back to theirs. Almost everything would be just the same as before.

Before leaving Domino City, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, May, and Max had said their goodbyes to Yugi, Joey, Téa, and Tristan and wished the pharaoh good luck on finding the rest of his memories before heading back and continue on their journey. Ash requested that when that time comes, tell his ancestor "hello" for him. Yugi nodded and wished his trainer friends all good luck on the rest of their journey. He especially petted Pikachu on the head and told it to look after Ash and his friends. May hugged Yugi one last time, claiming she doesn't wanna leave, much to Téa's annoyance. The two teams of friends then waved to each other farewells as the trainers left Domino City.

Ash, Pikachu, May, Brock, and Max traveled all the way back to Hoenn region, exploring the rest of the world of Pokémon.

Professor Oak returned to his research lab to proceed his work at studying Pokémon and unlocking secrets within the Pokémon world. Tracey was in the Oak Corral feeding the Pokémon. So yep, everything was pretty much back to normal.

Yugi went back to dueling. At his high school class, he resharpened his skills with several classmates. Joey also made sure his dueling hadn't grow rusty by having a rematch with Tristan.

Solomon swept outside of his game shop.

Kaiba continued his work at his office computer while his younger brother Mokuba kept a lookout the window.

Pegasus had to go back to his island. He continued his role as president of Industrial Illusions.

Elsewhere, Billy and Kidd were seen hanging around in their motorcycle garage. Apparently, they decided to quit Team Rocket and give up rare card hunting to start new lives.

At the Domino Pier, Ryou Bakura sat on edge of the boardwalk, watching the sun set in the ocean. His little buddy Zoroa sat by his side as his new comrade and partner. Bakura smiled as he is at peace and free of the evil spirit and hoped to keep it longer.

The trainers set up camp for the night. Ash was digging in his backpack when he found a Wattsquirrel card in his backpack and thought about his friend on the opposite side of the world.

In the Kame Game Shop, Yugi was lying on his bed, looking at the stars from his roof window. As he sat up, he felt something in his back pocket and pulled it out. In his palm is an empty small Poké ball, it immediately made him think of his ally on the other side of the world.

The boys both knew that even when they live in different worlds, they will always be friends. And they will never forget their adventure they went through together and the experiences they shared with each other, with Pokémon and Duel Monsters. Someday, they will be reunited their ancestors, especially Cypress who was an ally to the great pharaoh in the ancient past.

* * *

**EPILOGUE:**

Somewhere out there, the failed group, Jessie, James, Rex, Weevil, and Meowth were stuck hanging from the tallest sequoia by their clothing snagged onto a long branch. "Unh...remind me how got stuck up here?" Rex spoke up.

"Oooohhhh...this bites!" James moaned. "I'm so tired being hung over!"

"I'm so dizzy!" Meowth whined. "I'm afraid of heights!"

"Quit your blubbering! It's your fault we're in this mess!" Weevil snapped.

"Excuse me? Our fault?!" James shrilled. "We gave you second chances and let you guys be in our team!"

"Yeah, and look what got us in!" Rex said. "If you ask me, you guys are the biggest losers than us!"

"How dare you! If my hands weren't stuck in the branches, I would have spank you rotten little brats!" Jessie snarled.

"Oh shut up, you nagging old bat!" Weevil retorted.

"Excuse me?! HOW DARE YOU CALLED ME A NAGGING OLD BAT!" Jessie shrieked.

"You wanna piece of me, you nagging old bat?" Weevil started.

"With a side order of your teeth because I'm going to kick them out, you ungrateful little worm!" Jessie snapped

"Bring it on!"

The hotheaded duo squabbled and spat, kicking long legs and throwing short arms and fists at each other.

"Is this what you guys go through everyday?" Rex asked the blue haired teenager.

"Not really, Rex," James answered bluntly. "Sometimes we end up blasting off and sometimes we landed up on high places..."

"And occasionally, we end up on safe ground...that is, where the worse awaits you," Meowth added.

"Mmm...Well, it can't get any lamer than this." Rex said.

"Wobbuffet!" The blue patient Pokémon popped out of Jessie's Poké Ball and joined its stuck friends.

"Ergh! I stand corrected!" Rex groaned. Everybody groaned in dismay.

**THE END**

**Finally finished with this story! XD**

**Stories update:**

**The Snow Pharaoh (in progress)**

**Sonic X the Movie 2: Rings of Fire (confirmed and under development)**

**Little Match Girl Joins Fairy Tail (Coming Soon)**

**Harry Potter Meets Batman (under development)**

**Poké-Oh! 2: The Chaos Queen (coming soon)**


End file.
